The Greatest Mystery
by Lady Laran
Summary: Faced with a challenge of a case that seems impossible, a member of Whammy's House makes a suggestion that could change things before L faces that challenge.  Kira had better watch out!  Yaoi/slash
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Something that's been nibbling at my brain for the past month or more. I've gotten hooked on crossovers and at night, trying to relax for bed, the wombat kennel gave birth to this baby wombat and it looks to keep growing on me. All I can tell you is that I will be twisting this into an Alternate Universe because, while some characters did annoy me, I can see that there are things that could be done differently. Ah, the joys of fan fiction. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or Harry Potter and do not earn any money from the creation of this story. All I can lay claim to is the plot that the wombat kennel spawned.

Chapter One: Whammy's House for..Wizards?

Whammy's House was intended for extremely talented children and over the years, Whammy had seen quite a few varieties of talent come through the doors of his home. However, it was a rather big surprise when the inventor was approached by a gentleman claiming that one of his prodigies held a talent that was considered fictional by most standards.

Magic. Whammy's House was educating a young witch.

Having read the reports of odd happenings surrounding the child, it made sense now that he thought on it. He accepted the facts after being shown magic by this representative of the wizarding world and was very much upset when the offer was given to remove the child from his home. The elderly male was very fond of the children that he sheltered and educated, viewing each of them as his family.

The wizard, one Amos Diggory, was pleasantly surprised by this muggle's insistence that the girl remain in her home over the holidays. He was even more surprised by the fact the man had refused to allow the girl access to the scholarship fund and had paid for the girl's tuition and supplies himself.

The surprise grew even further when the founder of the home told Diggory that any orphaned child found to have magic could be brought to him for testing. If the child met the standards for admittance into Whammy's, the little one would have a home there. If the child did not, Mr. Whammy had a lot of contacts to ensure a safe and loving residence for the child in question. All the older man asked was that his home was not spoken of in the wizarding world and that any and all magical protection be provided now that he would be housing at least one member of that world within his house.

Given the fact that the wizarding world had very few resources for orphaned children, the Ministry for Magic was quick to agree. A contract was written up and signed and shortly after that, the best specialists in crafting wards were brought in to protect the house and the property owned by Mr. Whammy.

Years slowly passed and over time, a few more children with magic and intelligence were brought into the house. Each student, magical and non-magical, were taught of the wizarding world and sworn to secrecy. As each child would grow to either succeed L or assist L in the capacity they had been trained in, the knowledge would follow them to their graves and Mr. Whammy had no reason to believe that they would betray the home and system that brought them up. The contacts in both societies were beneficial to L and the network that Whammy's House supported.

The two worlds never seemed to cross as far as cases went until something started happening across the globe that had people taking notice. Criminals in non-magical prisons were dying, and the authorities were calling for someone to put a stop to it.

The case troubled Whammy as he knew L was looking into accepting it if he was offered it by ICPO. Something about it didn't feel right to the older man, and he was worried about his charge.

A soft voice pulled the man out of his thoughts, turning his attention to Chrissy, a twelve year old witch under his care.

"Yes Chrissy?"

The girl seemed to straighten up, almost as if she was gaining in confidence now that she had his attention.

"Is L planning on taking this 'Kira' case?"

"I believe that is his intention if the ICPO offers it to him."

She chewed on her lip for a moment, and Whammy waited to see what was on the child's mind.

"Sir, I think this may have magical origins, possibly even Dark Magic. If that's the case, L will need someone to help him with it."

That thought hadn't crossed his mind, and he berated himself for just now considering that this could be a magical issue.

"Who do you think would be best to assist him with this?"

Chrissy looked at him with a serious expression on her little face.

"I know of one, sir, who has experience in dark magic and how to fight it. The problem is that it'll be difficult to reach him if L should decide to ask him for his help."

"I think we can arrange it. Who shall we be inquiring after for assistance?"

She drew in a deep breath. From the look on her face, it was obvious she held this individual in high respect.

"Lord Harrison James Potter-Black. Given his popularity in the wizarding world, it may be difficult to get an owl through to him. If that happens, I believe the best way to reach him would be either through the Ministry or one of his friends. I'd be happy to write the names down for you so you can send an owl."

Whammy nodded, noting the name mentally so he could tell L about this when he saw him in a few moments.

"Thank you, Chrissy. Go join the others now."

She gave him a bright smile and hurried off, leaving the elderly man alone with his thoughts. He stood there for a few short moments before heading to find his charge. The girl was right. This case reeked of supernatural, and someone with that type of knowledge would be beneficial.

L looked up when his retainer came into the room. There was a look around him that said the man had an epiphany on something, which meant it was something that would be of use to something L was working on.

"What is it, Mr. Whammy?"

He sank into a chair, looking at his ward.

"Something one of the students told me. L, I think we need to bring in a consultant if you take on the Kira case."

Dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he pondered the other's words.

"What type of consultant?"

"Someone from the magical world. I've been given a name to write to in hopes of getting his interest."

The detective listened as the older man explained what he had been told and then nodded, agreeing with the suggestion.

"I suggest we use one of the owls to find him then," the younger one said. "I've received word that the ICPO should be contacting me any day now in regards to the case and having this individual on the case with me will be beneficial."

"I'll send an owl immediately. If it returns, I'll get the names from Chrissy to try to reach Lord Potter-Black as quickly as possible."

L nodded, giving a small smile reserved for his father figure. He was glad to have Watari at his side, especially for things like this.

"Thank you, Watari."

The inventor gave a small smile of his own and began typing up the letter. He knew the world that this wizard came from used archaic ways of writing, but he was more comfortable with using the technology at hand.

A short while later, the document was finished, proofed by L, and then printed out. Watari had it in an envelope, addressing the outside with the proper name of Harrison James Potter-Black before entrusting it to an owl.

"This method of mail delivery always amazes me," he said to one of the children that was visiting the own enclave with him.

"It does take getting used to, Mr. Whammy, but it can be faster than regular post. I rather like it honestly."

He chuckled at the boy, who had just finished his first year at Hogwarts.

"Truth be told, I do too. Now, I believe you've got lessons soon. You'd best be off before your instructor finds you playing hooky."

The child laughed and scrambled away to make it to his class, leaving Whammy alone in the enclave. He watched the owl fly away, hoping that this gentleman he'd written to could help L with this case. Truth be told, he had a horrible feeling about this case and wanted to ensure that L, the son of his heart, would come through this without any harm.

Author's End Note - And the saga begins! I hope everyone enjoyed it; please let me know if you have. Also, if you want to be a part of my mailing list, please check for the link on my profile. I have a yahoo group that is great for those wanting to see the updates I submit. Thank you for reading!


	2. Meeting L  Sort Of

Author's Note: Here is chapter two already! My muses are definitely working hard on this. I have to say, I really am enjoying it so far. Thanks to all who reviewed and hope you enjoy this new installment. Word of warning, I will be changing some of the events of both series in order to fit things as to how I visualize this story going. One such change will be noticeable in this chapter as I was highly displeased with Rowling's free for all in regards to killing off wonderful characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or plot of Death Note or Harry Potter. I do not earn any money from this project either.

Chapter Two: Meeting L…Sort Of

It was rumored that Lord Harrison James Potter-Black was a shy man, shunning public appearances after his incredible battle with the evil He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. A lot of people often fretted over this possibility, wishing The-Man-Who-Lived-And-Vanquished would spend time with his fellow citizens of the Wizarding World so they could show how much they appreciated his courage and dedication to their safety.

For the true friends of the said defeater of the Dark Lord, they knew that Harry was certainly shy and very much uncomfortable with the limelight. The world they lived in tended to overdo things in regards to paying attention to their savior and truthfully, it didn't just make Harry uncomfortable. It downright terrified him.

Ever since the defeat of Voldemort, Harry had been plagued by stalkers of the worst kind and that had forced him into living in seclusion with the occasional company of his friends to ease his solitude. His home, one of the many Black estates, had been warded against intruders and specific kinds of mail that would intrude upon his peace of mind - mostly howlers and fan mail. It was because of those wards that he didn't receive much mail outside of his friends and the papers he subscribed to. So when the strange owl arrived, landing gracefully on his dining room chair, Harry was certainly surprised.

"Hello beautiful," he murmured to the owl, offering something for it to nibble on while he took the letter.

A few careful spells to determine whether or not the letter had harmful hexes on it revealed that the missive was innocuous, and Harry opened it.

~To Lord Harrison James Potter-Black,

I am writing to you in the capacity of associate to the international detective, L, in regards to a case that may be accepted when offered by the ICPO. He is aware of the world you come from, having some contacts there, and your name came up in a conversation regarding this possible case.

I do not know if you are aware of the rash of deaths that have been occurring with criminals within the non-magical world, but it has become a cause of concern for the governments and law enforcement agencies.

It was brought to our attention that someone with your unique understanding of the various areas of magic might be of use to this investigation. We would like a chance to discuss this further with you. Please respond with a time and location convenient for meeting with you.

W. ~

Green eyes blinked as he read the letter and then reread it, thinking on the words and what was going on in the world. The case that W was talking about had to be in regards to this Kira person who was committing the murders. He, Hermione, and Luna had discussed this a few nights ago over dinner, debating on how a person could kill so many people in so short a time.

Whatever was behind this wasn't a type of magic that most wizards and witches understood. However, considering what he was, Harry had made use of the privacy his hermit like ways gave him to study the items in his possession and learned a great deal about other types of magic that was associated with the items.

A soft sound from his feathered guest drew the wizard from his thoughts, making him smile at the owl.

"I'd almost forgotten about you. I suppose you're waiting on a reply, right?"

The owl hooted in acknowledgement, and the emerald eyed man rose.

"Come along then. My quill and ink are in the study," he told the bird, who flew to perch on his shoulder.

The two headed for the study, the owl flying to the back of the desk chair as Harry took a seat and pulled the parchment towards him. After dipping his quill into the ink, he began to compose the reply to send back to W.

-W,

I must confess to feeling rather intrigued in regards to the case you have brought to my attention. Despite my isolation from both worlds, I have been following the news and agree with the thought that the cause of these deaths may very well be magical in origin.

While I do not reside in London, I do own a home there, which is warded against uninvited guests and would be perfect for our meeting. I do ask that if you need to bring any technological devices with you to please inform me before crossing into the house as muggle technology and magic simply do not mix well without the proper spells to protect and allow them to work within a wizard's home.

I extend an invitation for tea, tomorrow at one, so that we may discuss the case and my role, if applicable, within it.

Sincerely,

H.J. Potter-Black

P.S.

The residence of Lord Potter-Black is Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London.-

Harry smiled and sent the missive off, wondering what tomorrow would bring. It had been a while since something had come up to make him this interested in something other than his private studies. It did bother him that such a horrible series of crimes were taking place, and he only hoped that he could be of assistance.

*~*~*~*~*DN/HP*~*~*~*~*

Of all the things Whammy had expected to see when he pulled up to where the address had taken him, seeing a house appear out of thin air was not it. The older man sat in the car for a moment, trying to pull his thoughts together after watching such an amazing thing, and finally exited the vehicle.

The man who opened the door when the older gentleman knocked was not what Whammy had been visualizing in his mind at all. He'd questioned the children at the House who attended Hogwarts about Lord Potter-Black and given their answers, the inventor had mentally pictured a tall, powerful looking man. However, the person who had answered the door was quite opposite of his mental image. Was this the man he'd come from Winchester to see?"

"You must be W; I'm Harry Potter-Black. Please come in," he said, opening the door wider to allow his guest entrance to the old house.

Well, that answered that question.

Whammy entered the house, briefcase in hand as he did so. He turned to face the young man, eyeing him for a moment to get a feel for the kind of person his host was.

Lord Harrison James Potter-Black was slender, almost frail looking, and very short. He estimated the young man to be about 5'4" or so. He was pale with long black hair that worn long and tied back. The delicate appearance was shattered at the hauntingly beautiful green eyes that met his own. There was a literal aura of power that radiated from the unique eyes as well as the small frame.

"Lord Potter-Black?"

The young man laughed, waving a hand. It was obvious that he was not very used to being addressed by a title, and his words only reinforced that deduction.

"None of that now, please. Call me Harry and please, follow me."

The older male spoke as he followed the younger from the entry hallway, also wanting to eliminate some of the formality. He took a seat in the beautifully decorated parlor, addressing the other. "Call me Watari," the inventor offered.

"It's nice to meet you, Watari," Harry answered, taking his own seat and poured tea for his guest.

"Do you mind if I set up the laptop, Harry? It's been spelled against the problem electronics have with technology."

The wizard nodded, gesturing to a small table that was right within reach.

Once he knew where to set it up, Whammy put the laptop on the table, setting it up with a microphone and camera, knowing L would be able to watch and participate in the meeting.

The computer booted up and after a few clicks of the mouse, a gothic L appeared on the screen.

"Lord Harrison Potter-Black?"

The voice was distorted, disguising it through electronic means. Harry, understanding the need for privacy and security, wasn't offended at all and answered with respect as he served himself some of the sandwiches to go with his tea.

"Harry, please. I tend to remain informal unless absolutely necessary. I take it I am speaking with L?"

"Yes, I am L. Thank you for answering Watari's letter so promptly and meeting with us," the voice spoke out from the computer.

"It's not a problem, L, Watari. I know that this Kira person is a very real threat to the world and needs to be stopped.""Indeed," Watari answered, sipping his tea as he did so.

Harry nibbled on his sandwich, gaze alternating from the older guest in his parlor to the computer screen.

"You believe these crimes have been done through magical means?"

"I cannot discount the possibility. Given the times of the deaths as well as the varied locations of the prisons, this cannot be the work of a group. No one is that organized to kill this many at the same time. There would be a mistake made."

The wizard frowned, contemplating the words of the detective.

"You raise a good point. It would be incredibly difficult to coordinate that many deaths at one time without at least one missing the deadline. However, if it is magic, it will take some time to research what could be the cause before a plan of action could be laid out to stop Kira from killing more people. Add to that, explaining to the public about how this was done would be a potential risk to my world."

There was a pause for a moment, telling Harry that L hadn't considered the fact that this could expose the magical world to the rest of the population. That was something that wasn't a good idea considering that neither worlds were ready for that yet.

"While the case proceeds, we can determine a safe course of action that will keep the magical world's existence away from the others. If you were to be asked to join the team, Harry, what would you need?"Harry considered the question, thinking over the things he would need in regards to assisting L with the case.

"I'm not sure how housing works during your cases, but I'll need a room for books that I can ward to keep unwanted people out. The size of the room won't matter too much as I can cast some spells to expand it if need be. I'll be bringing everything I have that could possibly apply to this. Given the amount of books in the libraries that both the Potter and Black families have amassed over the years, I'll need the space to store them safely. Packing them won't be a problem if we need to move, it's just research and storage space that I'm in need of."

"That can be done," Watari reassured, being the one in charge of housing during each of L's trips while working on the various cases he was asked to solve.

"I'll also want to keep two of my friends up to date on this because I might need their input later or have one of them fetch something for me if I don't have what I need on hand. Hermione and Luna are incredibly brilliant in their fields, and they won't talk about what's going on with anyone either. I can have them swear magical oaths to that."

"They will not speak of this to anyone?"

"No, a magical oath is precisely that. They swear on their magic to do or not do a certain thing. If they break their oath, they lose their magic and that's a death sentence to any witch or wizard," Harry answered.

"Understood," L responded after a few moments of silence. "Is there anything else you will require?"

"A house elf to assist me. The books, as well as some of my personal belongings, cannot be handled by anyone that doesn't know of the magical world. I won't have time to take care of things while assisting you or researching, so I'll have to have one with me. When he's not busy, he can help out with the more mundane chores to free up time for the case. You won't have to worry about him being spotted. House elves are remarkably resourceful about that kind of thing."

Watari nodded as L also agreed to the request. Both knew this would actually take some of the burden off of the older male's shoulders.

"Agreed. I have researched what little is known about you, Harry, and given this interview, I feel that you will be a good addition to the team. Would you join us?"

Harry gave both the computer and Watari a determined nod and smile.

"I'd be honored to join the team and help you stop Kira from taking more lives, L. This sort of thing can't keep happening."

"It will be good to have you, Harry. We will be leaving for Japan in two days. Can you be ready by then?"

He swallowed his sandwich before answering, not wanting to be rude.

"I can be. Just tell me where to meet you and I'll be there," he answered.

"Indeed. Watari will have papers ready for you - passport, travel documents, and the like. We will need a name for you to use for your protection."

Under the circumstances, Harry could certainly understand the need for a false name and was grateful that L had thought of it.

"Call me Orion Evans."

Author's End Note - Wow, another update and so fast! This story is moving well for me, and I'm happy for that. Things should start picking up in another chapter or two as the investigation begins. I'm always interested in any advice or thoughts, so please review! Also, if you want to be on my update list for this story or any other, please check out my author's page and click the link! Take care and happy reading.


	3. Traveling Muggle Style

Author's Note - The response to this story has been favorable so far, and I'm incredibly excited by it. I really hope I continue to deliver and please the readers with the tale. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and rate my story.

I noticed when I uploaded this to fan fiction dot net that the content information on the story didn't save right. All I can do is apologize for that. I did try to fix it, and the stupid thing didn't want to be fixed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Death Note. Since I don't make money from this, I just tend to play with the characters to have fun and exercise my writing skills!

Chapter Three: Traveling Muggle Style

The two days L had allotted Harry to prepare for the trip had been incredibly busy, starting the moment Watari had left.

Once he'd been alone in Grimmauld Place, the wizard had called for his favorite house elf, getting Dobby to coordinate with the houses he owned to have the books quickly put into a list and compared to the rest of the libraries he owned. Every book was carefully packed away; the only exception being any duplicates that were kept in the libraries they were found in.

The lists were put in a safe location so that the books could be returned back to their original homes once he returned to England.

The trunks would be ready for Dobby to transport once the group arrived at wherever they were staying. Harry didn't want to shrink them considering how old and rare some of the tomes were. It was safer to let the elf bring them to him once things were ready, and the house elf had agreed. His small friend also insisted on bringing Harry's clothing with him, leaving only the messenger bag for the wizard to worry about on the flight.

The last minute preparations that took place the morning Harry was to meet with Watari and L were actually quite few outside of grooming and eating breakfast. Knowing who he was going to be to the world in regards to the Kira case, he found and spelled a chain that would not be removed from his neck except by hands he keyed into the spells and would also keep the necklace invisible as well as undetectable by metal detectors.

On the chain went the ring that held the Potter seal as well as the ring for the Black seal. The Black signet ring was a bit different than most rings. This one spoke of the dark heritage of the Black family as it was actually a 'poison' type ring. The seal opened up and had a storage space that could hold any manner of poisons or potions. It was a 'bottomless' space and could hold anything. The ring was perfect for storing two items that needed to remain with him but not be seen. He put his invisibility cloak into it as well as the Resurrection Stone.

Since claiming the Deathly Hallows, none of the items allowed for him to leave them behind. That was one of the changes that had been made in his life since claiming them. There were others he had discovered by research or accident, and some of the changes had scared him quite a bit.

The Elder Wand went into a holster that he wore on his left arm, keeping it within easy reach in case he needed it. The holster was made of the highest quality dragon hide leather available and held charms to keep the wand from being summoned from him as well as being invisible.

Harry sighed, double checking that he had everything he could think of before concentrating on the location Watari had given him as the meeting point for the group. He'd asked Watari to make sure no one could see him appear, and the older man had reassured him that the location was well screened from any outside viewers.

The wizard disapparated with a pop, reappearing in a very nicely decorated living room area inside of what had to be a hotel suite. A soft sound made him turn and for a moment, he thought he'd apparated into the wrong room until Watari entered and gave him a welcoming smile. Harry returned the smile though his eyes were drawn to the unusual looking man who was rising from an odd crouch in the seat he'd been waiting in.

"You must be Harry Potter-Black," the stranger murmured, standing in a very strange hunched over position.

"It all depends on who is asking," the wizard answered with a bit of a cheeky grin. "To some people, who aren't important as of yet except for being affiliated in some way with the case, I'm simply Orion Evans."

"To the rare people I meet, I go by Ryuuzaki Rue," the man answered, giving a bit of a smirk to the green eyed man.

"Given the fact you've used the word 'rare,' I would go on the assumption that to those who meet you through the computer screen, you go by L, the international detective. Am I right?"

The smirk grew a bit more as the man nodded while answering Harry's question.

"You are right; I am L."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Harry said with a grin. "Hard to get a good feel for a person when all you have is a voice and a letter on the screen."

"It is an effective means of communication, and it also preserves my anonymity."

The long haired male nodded, understanding that part.

"You use a computer, and I end up a hermit for the most part. I guess whatever works, hmm?"

"Indeed," was the dry response. "Are you ready to go?"

Harry nodded, adjusting his messenger bag's strap on his shoulder.

"Yeah, my house elf will drop my things off when we get there. With customs and stuff, I'd rather not take a chance on anything being seen that shouldn't."

Both men gave expressions that spoke of understanding. Harry had voiced his concerns about anything that had a tie to his world being discovered and given the ties the two men had to Whammy's House, they would do what they could to help the other keep the magical world hidden.

"You spoke of that during the interview. We will talk on the plane to discuss safety measures to keep your belongings out of sight but in an area where you can do the research that comes up," L said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Sounds great," Harry answered him. "This should be interesting. I've never flown the way muggles have."

A bit amused by the young man's candor, Watari chuckled, handing him a folder and watching as the young man flipped through it.

"This will be a bit of a change for you then. Although, the plane we use is a bit more refined than the normal planes used for traveling. We do a lot of it, and L hates to be uncomfortable during transit."

"Can't say that I blame him," he answered, tucking the papers into his messenger bag for safe keeping. "That's a lot of hours in the air. I'd want to find a way to stay comfortable too if I had to rely on muggle means all the time."

L didn't answer and simply headed to the door, and the men followed behind.

Harry had to appreciate the things the hotel did to keep the privacy of their guests protected. Doors that were usually kept out of bounds to people who were not members of the staff were opened to allow the three of them through, leading them to the back where a nice looking car was waiting for them.

He settled himself comfortably in the seat, looking out the window as the drive maneuvered the automobile through traffic towards the airport.

"You look a bit amazed," an older sounding voice interrupted his inner musing.

"I am a bit. I'm so used doing things with magic that I've forgotten about the simpler ways of doing things. Apparating to where I need to go, using the floo, or port keys instead of driving to places. I'd forgotten that it can be relaxing," he answered with a smile.

Watari nodded, understanding where the wizard was coming from. He'd seen great advancements in technology over his lifetime and had contributed to a number of the those advancements himself. However, the older male did enjoy the simpler things in life as it helped remind him that it need not always be fast paced and too narrow minded in regards to the world outside.

"I understand in some ways," he answered. "It's a good reminder to stop and enjoy things before those things aren't there to view anymore."

Harry didn't answer, thinking on the words that Watari had spoken. He'd learned to slow himself down after the last battle with Voldemort, wanting to see and experience things he'd missed. The burden of the Deathly Hollows was also something that had forced him to put things into proper perspective as well.

The silence wasn't broken again though the soft whisper of paper as L went through the files he'd been reviewing was the only sound that came through the low noise of the car traveling over the road.

The trip to the airport went smoothly as Watari had scheduled the departure time during a period of time that allowed for not being stuck in traffic. Given what Harry knew about these things, it was definitely less stressful for those in the car. He hoped that the times could be arranged like this more often as the wizard was not used to muggle methods of traveling.

It didn't take long before the vehicle pulled into a private area of the airport, not too far from a large airplane.

"Is that what we're flying in?"

Watari chuckled, catching sight of the private jet that was owned by the organization that L worked in.

"Oh yes; it's come in handy over the years," he said, exiting the car once it came to a complete stop.

"I imagine it has," the green eyed male answered in return, picking up his messenger bag and climbing out of the transport. His eyes were focused on the large craft; the wizard was feeling a bit anxious about this. Despite his love for flying on his broom, it was a bit different being in the air in a muggle invention instead of the relatively familiar mode of transport he had used since entering Hogwarts.

"You look nervous," a soft voice flatly intoned as L climbed out of the car. The detective stared at him with a look that reminded Harry of a Hippogriff stalking its prey. It was rather disconcerting and was certainly a feeling that the Master of Death wasn't sure he was comfortable with.

"Yes, I am a bit. I'm used to brooms instead of something like this."

"It is a bit illogical to fear this over a broom, Orion. A broom is narrow, has no real place to grip onto, and nothing to protect you from the elements or when you fall."

Harry was startled into a mischievous grin at that piece of logic from the taller male.

"True. However, Ryuuzaki, the facts are a bit different from my point of view. Brooms are spelled with countless charms for safety and the like. Planes are worked on by muggles, and there's a lot of mistakes made during maintenance. I'd like to think that I'm being logical in me being a tad uneasy by this. I'll be willing to bet you that no wizard has even attempted a safety spell on this thing."

L shook his head, unruly dark locks spilling into his face. The hair didn't remain there due to the wind that blew across the tarmac.

"No, not to the best of my knowledge. I am told that might be a good thing considering the reaction magic has with electronic technology."

The grin on the wizard's face grew even larger, making L wonder at what had amused the man so much.

"It used to, yes. However, my friend, Hermione, really helped with the spell development department to help with that problem. Before she did so, I'm afraid the magical world was centuries behind the muggles in regards to technology. Now that she's helped with things, we're catching up," he told him.

"I heard that parchment and quills were used. I had not thought anyone would use such outdated tools."

"I know. Imagine growing up in a muggle society along with their primary schools, being used to ink pens, and then being dropped into a magical school where you've got to use quills. I can't tell you how poor my penmanship was until I managed to get the hang of it," Harry said with a laugh.

L gave a small shudder that was almost graceful.

"That would be another reason as to why I prefer computers. They are more efficient as well as an excellent way to save time in regards to documents."

"I can't say as I can argue with you there, Ryuuzaki. I guess I should try to get on the plane now and hope that it doesn't have a problem between here and Japan," he answered, giving his own shudder as it seemed to make the other's expression soften into an almost smile.

"Indeed. I have an appointment with the ICPO tomorrow and wish to be settled in our accommodations before that time."

The small male nodded at that, knowing there was a lot to do before L could step up and accept the case when it was offered to him. He'd had Hermione do some research and given the sheer amount of cases that were solved successfully by the international detective, Harry had no reason to believe that he would not be offered a case of this magnitude. Truthfully, there really was no other detective in the muggle world who could handle something like this.

As he boarded the muggle transport, Harry could only really wonder about what the future would bring. A case like this was something he worried over. The amount of people dying per day was staggering, almost equaling what Voldemort or Grindelwald had done during the wars. That was fact was one reason he'd agreed with Hermione and Luna in regards to his participation with L's investigation. There was no way he could allow something like this to continue.

The slender male took a seat, settling his messenger bag beside him on the comfortable couch style seat. Harry drew in a soft breath, accepting the files that Watari handed him to review over the case.

"Here we go again."

Author's End Note - It's always difficult to deal with chapters where things have to be put into motion. Sometimes, we call these filler chapters and that makes it a bit more challenging to keep things interesting while pushing the plot forward. Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoyed this. My thanks to those who reviewed and put an alert on my story. I hope to see what your thoughts on this chapter are! Happy reading!


	4. The Bloodhounds Start Sniffing

Author's Note - I'm still on a high from the response from the first chapters. So many alerts and a few reviews. I treasure each and hope to see more! I do listen to feedback from my readers and take the suggestions seriously. Anyway, here we go for chapter four!

Disclaimer - I do not own the characters or universes of Harry Potter or Death Note. I just like to play with the characters. I don't make money from this either.

Chapter Four - The Bloodhounds Start Sniffing

The trip to Japan was short or so it felt to Harry. He'd spent a large portion of the time reviewing the case notes that Watari had handed him and making notes in a notebook that had been found after he'd requested it.

The case, so far, was interesting in a morbid way. The wizard was a bit baffled as to how so many killings could be done almost flawlessly. There was something about this that really bothered him, and it wasn't just the amount of human lives that were snuffed out so easily. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it but knew he would in time. It was probably buried in one of the ancient tomes that Dobby would be bringing once they had settled into a hotel after landing.

He was very much unaware of being watched by the detective and his caretaker as he worked.

"He shows great dedication so far," Watari murmured to L in Italian. He knew that Harry wouldn't be able to understand them, giving them a sense of privacy.

Dark hair slid into dark gray eyes as L nodded, a pensive expression on his pale face. He'd been dividing his attention between his files and the other dark haired male during the flight. So far, Harry was showing dedication, which was something the reclusive man greatly appreciated.

"Indeed. So far, he is exceeding expectation. However, I will withhold judgment until I know what his thoughts are on the case."

The older male could only agree. He was rather impressed with the level of hard work being shown over the last few hours.

"We'll keep an eye on him but if he keeps up the pace he's going at now, he'll certainly be a valuable asset."

The pensive look on L's face didn't fade as he heard his mentor's words. Watari was right; Harry could become a valuable asset and not just to the case. He would keep watch over his new associate and see how the smaller male handled himself. If what the detective was seeing now held true throughout the length of the investigation, Harry may just have the requirements needed to become part of the Organization L worked with.

"Agreed. When we land, Watari, have him work with you on the electronics we have - computers and security. I want to make sure that there will be nothing that can disrupt them. Once done, I want to keep an eye on our new teammate and see how he reacts through everything. As you've said, if he performs well, I think an invitation should be extended."

Watari flashed him a smile, pleased that L had noticed the same thing he had.

"I'll see to it," he promised him.

"Thank you, Watari. Preliminary results so far seem agreeable. We just have to wait to see how the full test goes before a final decision can be made."

The inventor nodded, then hurried to make some tea for the group as well as something for them to eat. The flight was a long one, and he knew L well enough to know that the man's fast metabolism would have his stomach rumbling before much longer.

The scent of fresh tea and pastries brought L from his thoughts and Harry from the notes he was reviewing. Watari had to hide a laugh at the sudden rumbling that came from both stomachs.

"I think I chose the right time to do this," he said, chuckling as he set out the tea things. The older male was surprised when the wizard rose, helping him with the set up. Usually, Watari had to do this on his own as L was typically buried in cases about the time meals were brought to him.

"It certainly smells delicious, Watari," the green eyed male said to him. "If it tastes as good as it smells, I think we're in for a wonderful treat."

"Thank you, Harry," Watari answered with a smile. "I appreciate the compliment and the help."

Harry just smiled back and helped the other to set up the tea service before taking a seat, sweetening his tea with a bit of honey and a dash of milk. He was about to take a sip when he saw how much sugar L was dropping into his cup. His eyes continued to grow wider as more and more sugar cubes were dropped into the cup before a plate of nothing but sweets was pulled closer for him to eat.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I have to ask. How is it you have any teeth left?"

L looked up, a forkful of cheesecake near his lips as he was taken by surprise by the question the other had just asked.

"I am very conscientious about dental care."

"I've never seen anyone put that much sugar into their tea. Can you even taste the tea at all?"

That was the first time L had ever been asked that question before, and it took a moment for him to ponder the answer.

"I can to an extent. Tea, no matter the mixture, is bitter to me and requires sugar to sweeten it so I can enjoy the affects of the beverage without the abhorrent bitterness that accompanies it."

Harry frowned, thinking on what he'd been told. It made a kind of odd sense but really, there were other kinds of teas out there that weren't too bitter. Most of them were herbal and given the dark circles under L's eyes, he had a feeling L went for the more caffeinated beverages.

"It makes sense, I suppose. It just doesn't seem to be the most healthy of approaches. You've got to take care of yourself," he pointed out. "You are an important person in the muggle world; you don't want to get sick because of diabetes or the like."

"I have a prescribed vitamin that I take, and my blood sugar is monitored routinely to ensure that I remain at optimum health and efficiency."

The wizard gave him a small smile, nodding at the news from the detective.

"Good. I'd hate to see someone become ill because of something like this. I'm glad you're taking care of yourself."

L nodded, then took the bite of the dessert that he had been holding off on to answer Harry's question. He noticed that the other had taken a few of the small cumber sandwich quarters that Watari had chosen, nibbling at them in a way that told him that food wasn't as important to Harry as it was to most.

Slender build, height that was too small for a man of his age. The visual clues were adding up in a way that was very unpleasant. He made a mental note to have a doctor called in to check on his new associate's health. L knew that there were healers in the magical world but given Harry's own words in regards to protecting his privacy, the detective had an idea that the other avoided medical exams as often as he could.

If his suspicions were correct, he would have a small project to work on to try and unravel a bit more information about Harry. The few times he'd heard of the man spoken at the House, the name was spoken with deep reverence and L had checked the history books the magical kids had at the House. It seemed that Potter-Black had defeated a Dark Lord several times throughout his life; oddly enough, it had been the same person since Harry was about a year old or so. Given that background, it was unlikely that the man across from him had developed a good rapport with a doctor and had routine checkups. If he was abused, as L was suspecting, chances were even higher that Harry avoided them even more out of habit to keep the authorities from being suspicious.

"Sickle for your thoughts?"

That odd comment pulled the detective from his pensive state, focusing on the young lord across from him.

"Excuse me?"

Harry chuckled softly, setting his tea cup down as he did so.

"You looked to be lost in thought so I offered a sickle to see if that would help coax you into discussing them. Sometimes sharing the problem can help reveal other possibilities and ideas."

"True enough," he said, sipping his tea as he rapidly pulled his thoughts into a coherent state so he could discuss what was on his mind. "I have been contemplating the various strategies in drawing Kira out as well as what your role in the case could be. Which reminds me, since you will be working for me for this case at least, you will need to submit to a physical after we land."

The wizard stared at him for a long moment, eyes huge in stunned disbelief. Surely L wasn't saying what he thought he'd just heard?

"A physical?"

"Yes. We will need a copy of your medical records in case of any mishaps or illnesses that may arise during the time you spend with us."

Watari, who had been seated with them at the small table, broke his silence at the shocked expression on Harry's face.

"It's standard procedure. We have a doctor on call for L's and my needs," he said quietly. "She'll need a full work up on you so she can know what's normal or not in case of emergencies. You won't have to worry about her equipment reacting to your magic either. Everything she has for her mobile clinic has been altered to handle the magical influences of a witch or wizard. On top of that, she's worked with your healers in order to help with some of the young people I take care of. Dr. Whitmore knows what she's doing and will be able to meet your unique needs."

Well, there went the only argument Harry could use to escape the evil clutches of the doctor. He hated them with a passion, having spent too much time in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. In truth, the wizard always cursed and blessed Madame Pomfrey for overlooking the obvious. The last thing he'd needed was for the magical world to find out about how bad his life at his family's home was.

"I'm not exactly fond of doctors," he admitted, unaware of L's sharp gaze watching him for visual clues.

"Neither is L," Watari confided. "However, it's a necessary evil and should be done this evening after we land."

"Shite," he grumbled, making the older man laugh softly. Harry blushed a bit at using such language and was quick to bury himself back in the study of the notes he'd been given.

Merlin, it seemed that things were just getting more and more complicated and the bloody investigation hadn't started yet!

Author's End Note - A little shorter than I'd like and a bit of a filler. I'm okay with it but believe the next chapter will be better. This was more of them getting to know each other and moving things forward a bit. Since Harry tends to be so closed mouthed, this is a good way for L to start getting to know his coworker. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Welcome to Japan

Author's Note - I have gotten some amazing feedback so far on this story, and I can't thank everyone enough for reading and leaving reviews. You guys are incredible! I've been on cloud nine lately because of the reactions thus far. It's funny considering I was worrying so much about the last chapter.

I'm sorry about the lateness of the chapter. I went to my first anime convention this last weekend and had a blast! Tired myself out though and realized my family was right about me trying to do such things without certain types of help.

Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter or Death Note. I do not make any profits from this story at all. I just write this for fun and to challenge myself.

Chapter Five - Welcome to Japan

Harry spent the remainder of the flight worrying about the upcoming physical he'd have to take and studying the case notes. It wasn't easy dividing his attention, but he'd become rather good at it over the last few years.

His mind kept churning over the physical that L was insisting he had to take. The wizard hated doctors and healers, a habit he'd formed since he was small, and tried to avoid them to the best of his ability. It was an ingrained habit that he had yet to shake, and it looked like he would have to break it today as he knew the detective would not allow him to skip it. Given the equipment was also spelled to be safe around the magical world, there was no way the Potter-Black Lord would be able to manipulate the findings.

"Harry?"

Startled from his thoughts, green eyes looked up from the files to meet the warm brown eyes of the elderly caretaker.

"Yes, sir?"

"We've landed. I forgot to ask, do you speak the language?"

Harry had to smile at the look of worry that crossed Watari's face and was very quick to reassure him.

"No, I don't but there's a charm I can use to help with the language barrier actually. No one will be able to tell I can't speak or read a word of Japanese."

The answer surprised the older Englishman, and Harry drew his wand from the sheath. He murmured a series of incantations, casting the charms needed so that he could understand, speak, and read Japanese.

"There we go," he said, concentrating on the language of the country he was now in so the charms would focus on Japanese instead of English.

"You speak it well," Watari said in the same language with a chuckle. "Bit of an accent but not enough to throw the pronunciations off at all."

"Got to love magic," the wizard answered, grinning for a moment. "Really can make things simpler at times. Other times, it can really foul things up."

"I can only imagine," Watari answered. "I suppose some people could really abuse that power and make it difficult for others."

The emerald colored eyes took on a muted shade for a moment as sorrow crossed the wizard's face, making the older man wish that the young man had not had to face so much evil in his short life.

"That's very true," he answered softly before his features regained the normal alertness and openness they'd had previous. "But that can be said for any society, I'm afraid. Power hungry people exist pretty much everywhere; the magical world doesn't hold a monopoly on them."

"Very true, Orion, very true. That is why we have people like L to put a stop to their schemes."

Harry nodded, glad Watari had chosen to use his pseudonym to allow him time to grow used to it.

"I really wish they'd thought to bring L in sooner than this. I still can't believe they've not formally offered the case yet."

The older man pulled a heavy trench coat on as he answered, looking consigned to what he was about to tell the other.

"Unfortunately, the ICPO and other organizations tend to be rather slow in regards to handing off cases to L. They acknowledge his talent and intellect but tend to feel that asking him to help is a sign of failure on their parts."

The young wizard rose, helping the older man get the coat settled as he frowned over the words Watari had just spoken.

"That makes little to no sense to me. You'd think they'd be happy to have a detective of L's caliber helping them. If it's too much on their resources, it's best to hand it to someone who has better resources and free up their time to work on cases they can handle. They'd find that their caseload would be easier to manage since they wouldn't have to worry so much about the ones that they simply can't handle," he said to the inventor.

"Oh, I quite agree with you there, Orion, but the problem stems from too much pride and a great deal of bureaucratic nonsense. Some people in those organizations feel as you do, but they're not in positions where they can make the right changes so delays like this one don't happen."

Harry moved back to his seat, picking up his messenger bag as Watari buttoned and tied off the heavy coat.

"The Ministry for Magic has had issues with bureaucracy like that over the years. When Voldemort surfaced again, the Minister didn't want to acknowledge that there was a danger. Too many people were hurt because he'd kept his head in the sand for so long," he said quietly.

The older man paused in picking up the hat he usually wore in his "Watari" disguise.

"He really kept denying the man's return? Was he a complete moron?"

That made Harry laugh softly though he'd heard the former Minister called that and much worse over the years.

"I think that's the case," he responded, slinging the bag's strap into place. "He wanted to maintain his position and had too many Death Eaters slipping him money under the table to keep quiet about things. It was a rather large mess once the new Minister was elected. I think the current Minister is still finding errors from Fudge's term that she's got to correct. I don't envy her that task."

"Given what you've said, I don't either. It never ceases to amaze me how idiotic governments and other bureaucracies can be," the older man replied, adjusting the hat on his head.

L padded up, standing in his usual slumped position as he heard the last part of the conversation but didn't remark on it. He focused on his retainer for a moment, who nodded at the silent question.

"The hotel is ready for us, L, and we'll be able to set up there before I go to the meeting of the ICPO with the laptop."

The detective nodded at that, familiar with their usual routine when reaching a new location for a case. He followed Watari off the plane, aware of the presence of the wizard beside him. The smaller male managed to match his strides evenly without showing signs of a struggle at all.

Harry kept pace with the men, ducking into the fancy limousine once they reached it. He settled onto the leather seat, looking out of the window to glance at the scenery as they drove towards their destination.

Tokyo was definitely a lot different from the cities he'd been through while living in England, and the green eyed male was very much interested in the things he was seeing. Maybe, once the case was over, he'd have a chance to play tourist for a while before heading back home.

L looked up from his reading, catching the wizard watching the passing scenery with avid interest.

"First time out of Britain?"

"Yeah," Harry answered, not looking back at the man. "I've never really had the time to travel though I've wanted to."

"If the case ends successfully, perhaps you will have time to see a few sites before we are scheduled to move on to the next location," he offered to him, bringing a slight smile to the other's face.

"I'd like that."

L offered his own version of a smile before immersing himself back into his paperwork. He was quiet for a while until they pulled into the hotel parking lot at the rear entrance.

"We'll go up from here, and the doctor will be waiting for you."

The detective bit back a quiet laugh at the groan from the wizard. He'd been expecting Harry to be displeased at this requirement, and the other hadn't failed to show his reluctance to meet with her.

"Damn it," the wizard groaned. He'd hoped L would have forgotten about that one. Apparently, that was a stupid thing to hope for considering the man beside him was a genius that made Hermione look dumber than dirt.

Watari heard the conversation and chuckled, knowing his charge was getting a lot of amusement from Harry's reactions to this. Knowing L as he did, the inventor was very much aware of the fact that the sugar addicted man was highly curious about the Lord's history and why the man was showing signs of past abuse.

"No, we've not forgotten about it," he told him as they walked in through the back entry of the hotel. "We need to make sure we know how to treat you if you should become ill or harmed. I'm glad to get this over with so that you can focus on what you need to do afterwards."

"Yeah, set up a library and deal with a hyperactive house elf," Harry said, shaking his head. "If you'll have the room cleared away for me, I can do that after the exam."

Watari nodded. "I took the liberty of reserving the penthouse, which has enough bedrooms for all of us as well as dedicated areas for research and work. It should be enough for what we need."

The group entered the elevator with the older male punching in the buttons needed.

"The doctor is on the floor under ours for the time being. We'll drop you off there and then expect you up at the penthouse after you've finished with your physical," the elderly caretaker told him.

"Right," Harry muttered, then winced after the lift stopped on the appropriate floor.

"She's in room 1172," Watari informed him. "Just knock and she'll let you in."

"Fantastic," he said with a soft sigh, mustering up his courage before stepping out into the hallway. The wizard heard the elevator close behind him and for a moment, the young man pouted before mustering up his courage.

He would find a way to get even with L and Watari for making him do this. Somehow, he would make sure they knew just how unhappy he was with this little side trip. He wasn't the son and godson of a Marauder for nothing.

Author's End Note - I wonder what he'll do to get even with L and Watari. I couldn't help the idea of some possible light hearted moments to make things flow easier when the story will get darker. Nothing that'll disrupt the story but enough to keep people from getting too dragged down too. Anyway, thank you to all of you who put my story on alert and took the time to review. I really cherish the reviews and take inspiration from them. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	6. Exams and Introductions

Author's Note - I am beyond excited by the level of feedback I received for the last chapter. You guys completely blew me away, and I am so very thankful for the reviews I was given. It seems the chapter was a hit and boy, did I get some great suggestions for possible future ideas.

I'm actually going to be addressing one of the plot holes found in Rowling's tale of Harry Potter, which has bothered me from the first book onward. It won't be in too much detail in this chapter, unless the muse pushes otherwise, but it will be addressed on several occasions through the story.

Disclaimer - I do not own Death Note or Harry Potter. I make no money from this plot and simply write it for the betterment of my writing skills as well as the enjoyment of my readers.

Chapter Six - Exams and Introductions

The doctor reminded him a bit of a softer Poppy Pomfrey, he mused as the door opened to reveal a middle aged woman with gentle blue eyes and graying dark hair. She had the same warm, caring air that the Hogwart's medi-witch had, and that helped to ease Harry's nerves just a little bit.

"You must be Orion Evans," she said with a warm smile. "I'm Dr. Whitmore, physician on call to L."

"Hello, doctor," he answered back, stepping into the suite when she opened the door wider to allow him in.

"This shouldn't be too painful," the doctor teased slightly, closing the door after him. "What I'd like to do is get a urine and blood sample from you before we begin the exam. I'm aware of your talents, Mr. Evans, and have to ask that you keep your wand on the counter there. It'll be safe there, I promise."

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable at the thought of his wand being away from him, and she was quick to notice his discomfort.

"I mean you no harm, Mr. Evans, but I am aware that there is a distinct possibility that you do not wish to be here. Watari informed me that you were very much ill at ease with Ryuuzaki's request in regards to having a full physical done. Though I am a muggle, I've been trained with the healers of your world and am very much aware of what a wand can do."

Well, there went the idea of using any type of charm to make her believe he'd gone through the exam. Harry had been debating on which one he could use that wouldn't give away that he'd cast spells to get out of this. It seemed he had been outfoxed at his own game before he could even get that started.

With a deep sigh, he unfastened his wand holster and set it on the counter in a position that would keep the wand in plain sight the entire time.

"Right, after you've finished providing the urine sample, you'll find a medical gown waiting for you. If you'll change into that please," she said, gesturing him towards a bathroom.

A short time later, he'd provided the sample and had changed into the drafty gown that the medical profession in the Muggle world seemed to believe was appropriate for patients. It seemed a bit ridiculous to him and very embarrassing to boot. Harry didn't like having his backside exposed for the world to see.

"There you are," she commented, then patted the exam table that was lined with paper to keep it sanitary. "Hop up here, and I'll get the blood drawn first."

The wizard sighed, then hopped up onto the table. He barely bit back a yelp when his butt made contact with the cold paper and leather. The doctor heard the soft exclamation and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry about that. It's difficult to keep things sterile when it's warm in here," she told him, making him nod.

"I understand. Just not the most comfortable thing to sit on when it's this cold," Harry answered with a rueful grin.

Dr. Whitmore gave a soft laugh at that as she pointed out something he hadn't thought of before. Most men hadn't really, and it made sense to the wizard when she verbalized her next point.

"Be grateful it's just your backside. Women have to lay full bodied on it for well women exams. You think you're cold? You should try one of those."

Harry shuddered at the thought, not liking the idea of being so completely exposed in this cold room. He didn't think he could handle such a thing and counted that as yet another mark as to why women were definitely equal to men, though some wizards didn't quite believe it yet. Being friends with Hermione and Luna had only emphasized that witches were just as capable and strong as their wizard counterparts.

"No thank you," he murmured, making the doctor laugh harder.

"All right then, let's get this going so we can get you out of this room, shall we?"

With that, Harry underwent several hours of grueling tests, performing as best as he could on each one as the doctor observed him and made notes. He had no idea what she was looking for, truthfully, and could only hope that nothing was seriously wrong.

Dr. Whitmore was gentle but thorough throughout the exam. The notes were set down in a tablet that was out of her patient's eye line. Once done, she took a step back and washed her hands before picking up her notes.

"We're done. I'll have some diet recommendations after your blood work is back," she told him, looking at him with an expression that told the wizard that she wasn't too pleased with the results she'd seen so far. "Once the results are in, we'll have a sit down to discuss everything."

Harry nodded, brushing the dark hair from his face. He had a feeling he wouldn't like the results once she had them, but he'd face this as he had everything else.

"All right, doctor. Thank you for your time," he said politely, making her smile at him.

"You're quite welcome. Now dress and see what Ryuuzaki has waiting for you to do. Knowing him, I'm sure he's got quite a list."

Harry nodded, heading towards the bathroom to change back into his clothing. Once dressed, he went back out and picked up his wand. The holster was soon bound to his left wrist, giving him a sense of comfort. There was one thing the green eyed male hated and that was to feel vulnerable, which being without his wand made him feel.

Once ready, he left the suite and headed up to the penthouse level where he knew Watari and Ryuuzaki would be waiting. The elevator ride was short, thankfully, and soon he emerged into the large suite that had been reserved by the older male.

"I see you made it safe and sound through the exam," was the greeting from the all too cheerful inventor.

"Barely," the lord grumbled with a rather grumpy expression on his face. "I swear healers are sadistic vampires. They're never content with one vial of blood; it's always got to be more."

"Well, I suppose they have to be in order to ensure we're in good health and the like," he said, gesturing for Harry to follow him.

Watari led him into a tastefully decorated bedroom with its own bathroom attached. It was done in soft shades of green, which the wizard appreciated as it was rather soothing.

"This will be your room for the time we're in the hotel," he told the younger male. "Mine is across the living area and L's is beside you. Word of warning, L doesn't sleep much so don't be surprised if you catch him working at odd hours of the night."

"He's an insomniac?" Harry looked startled by that and realized that he shouldn't have been really. L had dark smudges beneath his eyes that was a sign of the little sleep the detective got. There were times when the wizard had the same signs due to his frequent nightmares.

"Yes, he is. He's not been one to sleep regularly since he came into my care. I just let him rest when sleep overtakes him and try not to wake him unless it's important," the older man answered, watching as Harry set his messenger bag down at a small table against the wall.

"Have you given thought to speaking with a medi-witch or wizard? There's potions that can be given to muggles to help with sleep," he said softly. "They work rather well."

"I've suggested it, but he can be a bit stubborn. I may insist on it later once the case has finished," the caretaker answered. "I don't like the not sleeping problem as the human body needs it."

"Let me know, and I can bring in a trusted healer. I've issues with insomnia myself at times and have a potion created at the strengths I need to help me sleep when it gets bad," he told him.

"Thank you," Watari told him and Harry just smiled at him, kicking his shoes off and setting them beneath the table for now.

"You're most welcome. Now, where am I to get my books set up?"

"Follow me," the elder said and led Harry to a room adjacent to Watari's room. It was small but workable.

"This will do," the wizard murmured. "I just need to expand it in here, and there will be room for the shelves and things I need to set up."

"Before you get to that, L would like you to go over the electronics we have in order to make sure they're safe from your spell casting."

The wizard nodded, giving him a wide smile. It was a fairly easy set of charms that would protect the modern technology from the odd effect magic had on it.

"Not a problem, Watari. Is everything in the living area?"

"For the moment, yes. Afterwards, I can get the rest set up before I have to head to the ICPO meeting."

"All right then," the younger male said with a grin. "Let me get that done so I can get my things set up as well."

The two headed into the living room and Harry drew his wand, focusing on the carts of computers and other pieces of equipment that he wasn't too sure of the identity of at that moment.

Under the watchful eyes of both L and Watari, the charms were cast and the equipment was protected from any magical spikes that would destroy the delicate inner workings of each device.

"All done," he told the two. "I should introduce you to the friend who will be helping out with the basic chores. Dobby!"

A few moments later, the house elf popped into the space close to where Harry was standing. The little creature bounced excitedly, ears flopping with the movement.

"Dobby is so happy Master Lord Harry summoned Dobby! How can Dobby help?"

Harry smiled, kneeling in front of his small friend. Dobby was unique amongst his kind, and that made him very special to the wizard.

"First off, Dobby, while we're here in Japan, you'll want to call me Orion Evans. That's just in case you're overheard. Understand?"

Dobby nodded, looking eager to please as he did so.

"Dobby understands, Master Orion, and Dobby will remember."

The green eyes sparkled at him, very pleased with the elf's enthusiasm. He knew that his friend would be a good help for the case.

"Good. Now, I want you to meet my coworkers. This is L and Watari. For the future, L is to be addressed as Ryuuzaki."

The large eyes of the elf took in each figure as his master introduced them, committing the names and faces to memory.

"Ryuuzaki, Watari, this is my friend and house elf, Dobby. Dobby will be helping with the basic chores in order to free up more of Watari's time. Should either of you need his assistance, just call his name. He'll hear and come to you to see what it is that is needed. Dobby is very good at not being seen."

The two men nodded, greeting the small creature who just beamed at them. It was easy to see that the house elf would quickly come to like the ones his master was working with.

"Just call for Dobby and Dobby will take care of what Master's friends need."

Harry's grin just grew wider. It was good that two non-magical people accepted his tiny friend so easily. This was a good sign for the future, he thought to himself.

"Dobby, the room right there is where I need the research library set up. Afterwards, see if Watari needs anything and work out a schedule, all right?"

"Yes, Dobby will, Master Orion sir," the elf agreed before disappearing.

"Rather excitable little chap, isn't he?"

The wizard laughed at that, eyes still gleaming with mirth. Watari's comment really didn't touch what Dobby could be.

"He can be, yes. Now, while he's working on that, I'm going to get some security wards set up to ensure no one comes in without our knowing," he said to them before setting to work. Harry wanted things in place before L's meeting with the ICPO.

As the wards were woven, he could only hope that the meeting would go well. There was a bit of a knot forming in his stomach despite the levity he'd shown when talking to his old friend. At the moment, all the Master of Death could do was wait to see what would happen next and hope that nothing would go wrong.

Author's End Note - I have to apologize for the length of time it took me to get this one out. I was ill, then was on vacation. That sort of slowed me down writing wise. For those who have left reviews on fan fiction dot net, I apologize for the lack of responses. I kept trying, but it seems the wonderful site decided to tell me the links were too old and not let me respond at all. I value each review! Thanks to all of you for reading and hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as much as you have the others!


	7. Getting Set Up

Author's Note - On a roll again! I'm really happy with the feedback I've gotten so far on this and am using it for fuel to keep on going. The fun part of this story is that I have an excuse to watch Death Note again to keep the basic plot fresh in my mind though it will definitely go AU, not that it hasn't already. Can you tell I'm having fun with this?

Disclaimer - I do not own Death Note, Harry Potter, or the characters affiliated with either works. I am simply doing this to challenge myself and to settle a bit of a problem I have with some of how it went. I do not make any money from this whatsoever.

Chapter Seven - Getting Set Up

Getting everything set up didn't take as long as Harry had expected. Watari seemed to have a system in place in regards to getting both electronics and personal items squared away in their proper positions. Having Dobby to help didn't hurt matters either. The inventor was quick to thank the wizard for allowing the house elf to assist in getting things put up.

The green eyed male looked up from the 'master list' book that had been created when his books had been sorted and packed when he heard the words of gratitude from the older male. He smiled warmly at him as he answered.

"It's not a problem, honestly. Dobby enjoys helping others and given he isn't as shy as most house elves tend to be with strangers, I figured he'd be perfect to work here. I'd like him to sit with you and work out a schedule in regards to housekeeping and the like he can do to keep the worries off of you."

"I can certainly do that," the elderly man answered, feeling relieved to have some help in regards to the daily aspect of keeping L's surroundings tidy and the detective fed and cared for. "How did you meet Dobby?"

"Funny you should ask that," the Potter-Black lord said before launching into the story of how Dobby had tried to save him during his second year. Watari took a seat, listening to the tale that Harry had to share. He could only shake his head at parts of it and chuckle at others. Given what he was hearing, life would be interesting with the house elf around. Not that he minded too much really.

"I'm glad he crossed your path. Though, if he's a free elf, why does he address you as 'master' and not by your first name?"

The long haired male leaned back in his seat after putting the book down so he could meet the other man's gaze.

"To be honest, he asked to be bonded to me after Voldemort fell. Dobby didn't want to remain at the school and said someone needed to take care of me. He pretty much is my personal elf and is above each of the head elves that take care of the properties I own. I did agree to bond with him but only on the condition that he had one day a week off and was paid as well. I offered the same to each elf on my properties. Some took it, some didn't.

"Hermione couldn't pitch a fit with that agreement and helped me come up with a uniform for each house elf to wear. I can't abide the whole tea towel thing that most elves wear. Shite, I almost forgot. I need to tell Dobby to wear the version without the crests on it in case he is spotted."

Watari nodded, understanding the concern there. He also approved of Harry's methods in taking care of those who served him. It was just another sign of how good natured the young man was, and the caretaker was very pleased with the addition of the wizard to the Organization so far.

Dark eyes looked at his watch for a moment before rising from the chair. It was time to head to his meeting, though he usually strolled in about part of the way through in order to pull attention towards himself so that L's portion of the meeting would have a bit more impact on the members who were also attending.

"Right, I'd best get going. I've got tea and snacks out if you get hungry. Dobby pointed out the things you enjoy for nibbling on, and I ensured to have some of those out for you. L won't touch most of it," he said with a soft laugh.

"Because they're not sweet," the wizard returned with a grin. "Understood. I think I wouldn't mind trying some of the Japanese cuisine while we're here. Just so long as it's not raw. That's rather off putting."

Watari chuckled, having heard that sentiment before from past colleagues that he had worked with over the years. He rather enjoyed some types of sushi and indulged when he could.

"I'll bring some of the samples of sushi I enjoy for you to try. I promise you that they're not nasty or difficult to swallow. Least this way you can tell your friends that you did try it. I'm certain your friend Hermione would be disappointed if you didn't make an attempt to sample the sushi while here."

Ugh, he'd forgotten that point. Hermione would be disappointed if he returned to England and not tried at least some of the sushi. His friend adored sushi and had often tried to tempt him out to various restaurants to try it. His hermit like ways had helped avoid that, but he didn't have that excuse now.

"Merlin, she'd hex me for sure if I got home and told her that I didn't try any of it. I was thinking about sampling some of the simpler native dishes that were cooked, but she's a fiend for Asian food. Sushi is one of her favorites," he answered with a pout.

"Well, at least you'll be able to report to her that you did try it. Hopefully, you'll find something in the samplers I'll bring that you'll like and wish to have again at a later date," Watari said, donning his heavy trench coat. "There's a few sushi restaurants in England that aren't too bad. I'll make recommendations for you later. They're run by non-magical people so you shouldn't have to worry about being recognized."

"That's an added benefit right there," the wizard said softly, watching as Watari readied himself for departure. "It'd be nice to get out a bit more if I could avoid the stalkers that don't want to leave me alone. I've tried muggle places before and managed to enjoy it a few times before someone spots me and then I can't use that place anymore. Bloody annoying," he griped with a small amount of heat in his voice.

"Having to keep things low key for both L and the Organization, I can only imagine how rough it must be for you,' he answered, fastening the coat and tying it off. "Are you the only one handling your security arrangements?"

"I do have help from Hermione and Luna," the dark haired one answered. "Add to that, the properties I own are fairly old and the wards on them are incredibly thick. All I had to arrange was for specific wards to handle mail owl issues. It's amazing what people try to send through the post these days."

"It's the same in the non-magical world as well, unfortunately. I can't tell you what I've seen and heard that's been shipped through the postal services world wide," the older man answered as he picked up his hat. "It's a shame because it's the innocent ones that wind up paying for it."

Harry set his book down as he climbed to his feet. He hadn't heard much about the problems with post in regards to the muggle world as they hadn't really been printed much in the papers Hermione sent to him daily in order to keep him up to date with things happening in the non-magical world.

"It's more difficult to regulate the post in the magical world without the use of wards," the wizard said as he began to walk out of the library with the older man. "I'm glad that the muggle world has found better ways to keep people safe when it comes to mail. I just hope that finding this Kira person will not be too terribly difficult."

"L never really accepts cases that aren't interesting and doesn't present a challenge to him," the detective's retainer answered. "In a way, I do understand. A man of his abilities and intelligence needs to be working on things that most people in the police agencies can't handle. Otherwise, we'd be dealing with a bored L and that isn't a pretty sight, let me warn you."

Green eyes widened as he stared up at the taller male. He hadn't quite reached the point of picturing L outside of the usual focused individual that he'd been around so far. There were signs of a sense of humor but limited as the international detective was really focused on the tasks at hand.

"Is he really that bad?"

The inventor chuckled as he remembered the times L had been allowed to become bored due to the work coming their way being too easy for such a mind as his. It had been interesting, to say the least.

"He can be a handful when not properly stimulated," he finally answered, settling the hat on his head and picking up the briefcase that contained the special laptop he used for conferences like this. "However, I don't think he'll be bored during this case. There's simply too much to occupy him."

"Dear Merlin, I hope so. I'm not sure I would know what to do with someone like that," he muttered, making the older man laugh once again. Harry was a bit flustered that his comments were so amusing to the caretaker.

"Let's hope that it doesn't come to that," Watari told him, then hit the down button to summon the elevator. "I should return in a while. I'm certain L wouldn't mind company with him while he waits for me to arrive at the meeting."

"Not a problem," he told the other. "I need to check through my master list first before starting to work on research. Right now, we've not gotten much for me to go on in regards as to how this could be happening. Magic has a wide variety of uses; some have been lost over the years and others developed as well. There's a lot of ground to cover, and I'm sure L will have things for me to work on as well given I can handle some aspects easier with magic."

"Right then, I'm off. I'll see you both later," he said, stepping onto the elevator when the doors opened.

Harry waved at him and when the doors closed, he went back to his library to pick up the master list before joining L in the main living room. The detective was nibbling on what looked to be some sort of pastry though the wizard didn't recognize it. Dark eyes looked up to meet green as the other sat in a chair next to the oddly sitting man.

"Watari has left?"

He poured himself a cup of tea as he answered the other's question, adding some honey and milk before setting a few small sandwiches on his plate.

"Yes, he left just now," was the soft reply. Harry set the plate and cup in front of him, squirming a bit to get more comfortable in his seat. Once he deemed himself settled, he sipped his tea and gave a sigh of approval.

"The connection should go live in under an hour then," was the response, followed by the soft sound of chewing. "Things will be very interesting following that."

"I can only imagine," Harry answered, flipping open his book and pulled pen and paper to him to make notes of what to get started with for research. "How will this work after you accept the case?"

"I will be working with the police task force, sharing information and the like. They'll do a lot of the legwork needed for this," he answered after swallowing his bite of pastry. "Some of the members of the team will most likely leave because of not liking how I work."

The smaller male paused as he was about to take a sip of his tea, startled by that piece of information. "That can't be a good thing," he commented.

L shrugged a bit, stirring more sugar into his tea. He didn't seem too worried about losing people on the team.

"It's a good way to weed out those who are there for prestige and curiosity," the detective answered. "I would prefer to keep a small team of those who are trustworthy rather than a large one that would turn on their teammates for any reason. Given what we are dealing with so far, trust will be an essential factor."

"True," the other admitted softly. "We've no idea what we're up against yet and to have a lot of discord wouldn't be a good thing."

Shaggy hair fell into a pale face as the genius nodded, voicing his thoughts once again. "Indeed. With a smaller team, it will also be easier to control information if this does indeed turn out to have magic involved. There must be something you have to keep them from talking about what they may learn?"

"There's a muggle-safe spell and potion combination I can give them that will keep them from discussing anything about the case or about the team," Harry assured him. "I'll have to get the potion from Hermione though as I'm rather abysmal at potions. She'll be able to create what we need once we know how much of it she'll have to make."

"That sounds like a logical way to proceed," L answered, nibbling at a new pastry he'd picked up. "I believe it would be wise to let your friend know of this so she will have the ingredients needed to make this potion."

"I can let her know tonight; I need to contact her to let her and Luna know I've made it safely. They'll worry about me if I don't," he said, speaking of his protective friends. "I should probably find out where the magical areas are here in case I need something. I don't want to have to send them to get it for me and then Dobby to retrieve it from them. Granted, elf magic is powerful but it can be draining if I ask that of him too often."

"Will you be allowed into the wizard areas being a foreign visitor?"

Harry nodded, sipping his tea for a moment. Even being a visitor to a country not his own, the fact he had a wand would enable him to enter any magical area. If need be, he would inform the Japanese Ministry of Magic of his presence.

"I should be without a problem. Worse comes to worse, I may have to let the governing body of the magical world here know that I'm visiting and why my presence needs to be hidden. Hopefully, it won't come to that. I'd rather not risk the chance of my location being leaked out to any of the papers," he answered with a frown.

"A leak would not be a good thing for the investigation," the detective pointed out, looking at his companion.

"I know, and that's why I'm trying to keep things low key. Hermione and Luna have pretty much covered for me before and thanks to them, it should be all right. I just have to make sure to watch who I have contact with if I do have to go into the magical areas," he picked up another sandwich, looking at it thoughtfully.

L nodded, satisfied with Harry's answers so far. It was definitely looking promising in regards to bringing him into the Organization. The man was trustworthy and honest that the insomniac could see, and that was a definite plus in his book.

"I believe you have things under control for now. If you find that there may be a problem, I trust you will bring the issue to me and allow me to help resolve the difficulties," he said quietly, looking at the platter that contained all of the sweets Watari had set out for him. Decisions decisions - which one did he want next?

"That goes without saying," Harry answered him, nibbling on another quarter of a sandwich. "I'd not leave the team open to any possible security risks without letting you know that there's a problem to be dealt with."

Another nod was given as he chose the next dessert to eat. "Good, I am glad to know you will come to me with any issues. If I am busy, Watari is also available." He took a bite, chewed and then swallowed. "Now, you have everything arranged in your library to your satisfaction?"

"I do," the wizard answered, then stopped as a window opened on L's computer. It seemed the meeting was about to start. He remained quiet, waiting to see how things would proceed. The Master of Death only suspected that life would become more hectic and interesting from here on out. Only time would tell.

Author's End Note - Dang, this chapter wrote itself fast. I would love to thank HiddenbyFaeries for the wonderful chat today. That inspired me so much, and I really enjoyed it! Thanks to all who have taken the time to read this. I truly hope you enjoyed it! Well, on to write the next chapter. ICPO time next time!


	8. Confronting A Problem

Author's Note - Holy crap! The response to chapter seven was absolutely phenomenal. You guys are rock stars! Seriously! So many good things to say and very thought provoking. You guys keep this up, and the muses will keep on giving. The responses have me on a major high right now. I can't say thank you enough for the support.

Things will start going AU after the meeting with the ICPO, just to let you know. The ICPO meeting was taken from the subtitles of the DVD, which I spent part of a day typing up so I could have something to refer to.

Disclaimer - I do not own Death Note or Harry Potter. The characters do not belong to me; I just simply love playing with them. The dialogue from the meeting between L and the ICPO is from the DVD and not mine as well.

Chapter Eight - Confronting A Problem

Harry drew in a soft breath as the massive meeting hall of the ICPO came up on L's computer screen. He wasn't quite sure what he'd expected to see, but the group of people sitting at the tables, each wearing a set of headphones, certainly wasn't it. There were so many people from varied law enforcement agencies all over the world. If it had been him in control, the wizard would have been nervous but he could tell that the detective beside him was in full control.

"Members of the ICPO," the man began. "I am L."

The smaller male in the room could see the expressions on the faces of those closest to the camera of the laptop Watari had brought into the building to transmit L's message to the organization. It seemed that some were awed while others seemed rather upset with the fact they were being spoken to by a 'freelancer.'

"This case is unprecedented in scope and difficulty because it involves more people than any other case has before. It is also an unforgivable crime of a serial murder."

That was an understatement, Harry mused to himself. He wasn't sure if the sheer quantity of murders counted as a serial murder or if there would be a new term for something like this. This case really broke new grounds, and the wizard had to wonder if new terms and other techniques would come of it. He wouldn't be surprised if it did happen.

"In order to solve this case, I need the ICPO…no, the various worldwide organizations, to cooperate fully. I want you to decide whether you'll support me at this conference. Also, I strongly desire to work with the Japanese Police."

Considering that they were currently sitting in Japan at the moment, the green eyed male pretty much knew that the Japanese Police really wouldn't have much of a choice. He knew that there was a good reason they were there, having spotted something that triggered Japan as the country that housed this so called "Kira," and this was a good starting place for tracking the person down.

"Why Japan?"

L shot Harry a wry look before answering the question given by one of the members of the audience. He snapped a screen shot of the face as he answered the man's question, wanting to identify him later.

"Regardless of how many suspects there are, there's a strong possibility they're Japanese. Even if they aren't Japanese, they are hiding in Japan."

The wizard just grinned at the other, then shook his head when he heard L's answer. That was going to fly about as well as a ton of bricks would without the aid of magic. When he heard the next question from the same individual, Harry had to stop himself from groaning.

"What grounds do you have for your claims?"

The long haired male face palmed, trying not to glare at the files sitting in front of the duo that they'd been reviewing since leaving England. Honestly, did the police have no patience in regards to researching their current cases? He understood that almost every police agency in the world was overworked, but some of the clues were rather obvious. If he could see it, then why hadn't they?

"Why Japan? I think I can show you very soon by directly confronting the culprit."

The next question was one Harry was burning to ask. The idea of a direct confrontation did not sit well with him, and he was going to talk to the other about it as soon as the conference ended. Despite his position as researcher, he was going to do what he could to keep both Watari and L safe.

"A direct confrontation?"

L didn't answer the question and went on with his next train of thought, unknowing of his companion's thoughts as he spoke.

"At any rate, I would like to set up headquarters in Japan."

The wizard sipped his tea as the conversation went on for a while, listening to them discuss various things before L was formally offered the case as well as cooperation from every organization affiliated with the ICPO. L, of course, accepted it and said that he would solve the case and bring Kira to justice.

When the conversation ended, Harry looked at his employer as the man shut down the connection between the two computers. L could almost feel those eyes on him and questioned him while he worked on that small task.

"What is it, Orion?"

"What did you mean by direct confrontation?"

The detective poured himself another cup of tea, looking over at the wizard for a moment to try to get a read on the man's thoughts. It was obvious the other team member was a bit concerned, not that Harry really had reason to be. He knew the plan would work, and this would give a good starting point outside of just a country that had an extremely high population.

"I've a plan to help try to pinpoint exactly where in Japan Kira is," he told him, then began sharing his idea. He wasn't exactly expecting the reaction he received once he'd finished giving Harry the outline of the great idea the genius had been hatching up.

"Are you out of your ever loving mind?"

The teacup paused in its journey to L's mouth as the dark eyes stared at him, surprised by the question he'd just been asked. Of the reactions he'd anticipated from Harry, this one wasn't it at all. In truth, it made him wonder just how well he'd be able to calculate the wizard's movements in regards to any plans made.

"I believe I am in full retention of my sanity," he answered, making the other shake his head. It was very obvious Harry wasn't in agreement with the plan.

"Obviously not if this is what you're planning," the Master of Death retorted. "Granted, it's a start in regards to giving us the general location of where Kira is but what happens after the prisoner is killed? That confrontation you're planning is going to cause more problems than it solves."

"How so?"

"First off, you're giving too much information away to Kira if you go with the script you've come up with so far. He'll know that you know where he is and be able to plan accordingly. Given what he's done so far, I sincerely doubt he'd stupid. The less ammunition we give him, the better."

L considered this, staring into his tea cup for a moment as he rolled the wizard's words around in his mind. Harry was onto something there.

"All right, what else," he asked the other.

"Secondly, I know you're competitive but challenging him as you're planning will only agitate the hell out of him and give him more motive in trying to beat you before you can uncover who he is and how he's doing this."

Harry was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts so he could present his argument in a more logical fashion. A part of him, the one that had fought in a war, was thinking in tactics and keeping the important piece on the chessboard safe was vital.

"The best approach is to keep him guessing and in the dark as much as possible," he told him. "It's better to have him thinking we're trying to figure out where he is while we know where he'll be."

L's gaze shifted from the cup to the man sitting beside him. Harry's words had a great deal of merit and showed that he had a tactical mind as well. Obviously, they had chosen well for someone to help from the magical world.

"The Queen and King are the most powerful pieces on the board," the wizard reminded him. "We protect them while moving into strategic positions, then spring the trap. Giving away too much will leave us with too much freedom for him to move and not enough time to counter."

The dark eyes were fascinating in how they occasionally allowed glimpses of emotions to be viewed, Harry thought as he waited for L to respond. He'd pretty much just slapped the detective in the face with his own ego but for the sake of the case, it had to be done. Kira would stop at nothing to destroy L if he realized just how much the other knew about him, and the Potter-Black Lord would not allow anything to happen to the World's Greatest Detective if he could do anything to prevent it. He just really hoped that the genius would allow him to protect both him and Watari throughout the case.

"You are right. I was approaching this as I would a game, challenging him despite the fact that I knew he would react accordingly and plan to counter anything I could come up with. This is nothing like a game, and I should remember that. Thank you, Orion, for reminding me of what is at stake here. I will hold you to continue to do that while the case is ongoing," he told the smaller male at his side.

"I'll do my best, L, and act as a sounding board for you as well as the research you need. I fought through a war so I do have some experience with tactics and the like. Sometimes, it takes someone looking in from the outside to poke holes at the plans and see where it's weak. Then it can be tweaked, fixed, and launched against the opponent."

L nodded, readjusting his position as he did so. He would speak to Watari about this and then change some of the approaches for the case.

"Indeed. Now, we should change the script for the broadcast," he told the other, opening a file to begin working on various ideas as he discussed them with the wizard.

Harry listened, offering his opinions as he knew the second half of the broadcast would end up being rather short. That, in his mind, was a good thing as it would give L a bit more protection as he worked on the knowledge the broadcast's results gave him. As he did this, a thought occurred to him and he set his book down to face L directly.

"I'm going to send a missive to the Japanese Ministry of Magic now," he said. "I want maps of where the magical areas are and when we find where Kira's general location is, I can head into the one closest to him for more detailed research."

"Can you do this and not run the risk of having a leak develop?"

Harry frowned, reviewing what he would need to do. It could be done but would take a bit of fancy spell work to get the secrecy spells laid down.

"Yes, I can," he said softly, getting up to retrieve his writing implements. It didn't take long before the lord had everything he needed and sat back down, focusing on what he needed to do.

L watched in fascination as the quill scratched over the parchment in a way that was almost musical. He'd often thought that the sound would be annoying and was very surprised to find that it wasn't. Harry was graceful with it, not spilling when he would occasionally dip the nib of the quill into the inkwell.

A short time later, the quill was set aside and parchment dried before being handed off for L's approval.

Dark eyes looked at the parchment for a moment, taking in the elegant handwriting. Given what he'd seen Harry write with, he knew it would take him years to be able to write cleanly much less with this type of penmanship. That thought made him determined to see if he could try to learn how to do it when he had a few moments where he needed to keep his hands busy while he was in deep though.

~To the Honorable Leader of the Japanese Ministry of Magic,

I know you will have noticed the spells cast upon the parchment that have taken affect on you at this moment in time. It is rude to do such a thing without permission, especially to person in a position such as yours, but given the reasons for my presence in your beautiful country, I find myself needing safety and privacy. I can only apologize for my rude actions and hope you will find it in yourself to forgive me.

It has probably come to your attention that the International Detective, L, will be in your country soon if you have even remotely the same relationship with your muggle ministers as the British Minister does with the English Prime Minister. L will not be arriving alone.

Given the odd circumstances of the murders occurring world wide, he found himself in need of an expert in things tied into our world. He and his retainer, Watari, are in the know regarding the magical world and heard about my experiences and knowledge. I was offered a position on his investigation team, and I accepted.

Because this is my first time in Japan, I am unfamiliar with where the access points are that will allow me and my potential companions into magical areas. I was hoping to have some sort of reference guide to that if at all possible as well as ensure that you know that the muggles in my presence are aware of the magical world so that when magic is used in front of L or Watari, no alarms will be triggered.

If it does seem that this "Kira" is of magical origin, we will be happy to work with your law enforcement in order to bring this violent person to justice.

I will not be reachable by owl or other couriers, but my house elf will be monitoring the situation in case your office needs to reach me. I must ask, given the sensitivity of the case, that the attempt not be made unless it is something incredibly important.

Thank you for your time and patience.

Sincerely,

Lord Harrison J. Potter-Black

Head of the Most Ancient and Esteemed House of Potter

Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black

Order of Merlin, First Class ~

L finished reading and nodded, pleased with what he'd read. It was polite, diplomatic, and also held a door open in case they needed help from whatever passed as police in the Japanese magical world. Harry had really anticipated future needs when he'd written this, and the detective was quite pleased with it actually.

"Very good," he told him, handing it back. "You'll be able to keep someone from speaking about this to others and protect your identity?"

"Oh yes," Harry answered, taking it back and began casting a series of spells. The first would make the writing and seals visible to the Minister only. The others would keep the information as well as Harry's identity and presence in the country private as well as L's and Watari's. The Minister would not be able to speak of anything in the letter or the case unless in Harry's presence and with the right code word spoken to release the spells temporarily. A translation charm was also added in case his intended recipient couldn't read English.

"There we go," he murmured, putting the letter into an envelope and using sealing wax to close it. The necklace was slid off and both signets were pressed into the hot wax, leaving the seals embedded in the blue wax.

"Dobby!"

The house elf appeared with a pop, looking eager to serve. Harry knew his little friend would deliver his message without fail.

"I need you to give this to the Japanese Minister of Magic or whatever his title is here," he told him. "You need to ensure that the Minister is alone before you do so and wait in case there is a reply."

Dobby nodded, ears bouncing with the movement. He loved being able to help his master and wouldn't fail in this mission.

"Dobby understands and will deliver Master Orion's letter," he promised earnestly. "It will be given safely to the Minister."

"Thank you, Dobby, I know you will and great job on remembering the name I'm using here," he praised him with a wide smile curving his lips. "You may go now."

The little creature beamed happily at him as he nodded again, disappearing with another quiet pop.

Once they were alone, Harry gave a soft sigh. That was one detail taken care of, leaving a great many more for him to focus on. He picked up his book as he spoke, eyes going back to the heavy tome in his hands.

"And now, we wait."

Author's End Note - Well, here is the next installment! I'm sorry it took so long. Thank you so much for your patience. I've been so enthusiastic with the responses to this so far, and I hope that I continue to please my readers with what I share. I'm really happy with it so far and can't wait to see what my muses spring on me. Please, take the time to review and let me know what you think of this. Your opinions matter a great deal as they inspire me to work on the next chapter!


	9. Dialogues

Author's Note - Well, the planning phase is finally done and now time to get pen to paper so to speak. It's rather funny to be using that phrase as a good chunk of this chapter was written by hand while I was waiting in the lobby of a clinic. I love it when the muses cooperate and when I'm out, I keep a notebook with me in case the urge strikes to write. Murder on the hands though. I don't think I'll mention what it does to my eyes when trying to type up what I wrote. Dang, my handwriting is horrible!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write a review for the last chapter. Your responses are overwhelmingly upbeat and helps me keep the desire going to continue working on the story!

A bit of a warning here, I am addressing something that Rowling never did despite bringing up Harry's problems with his relatives in several of the books of the series. This also happens to show my opinion of a certain school employee, who I happen to think knew more than what Harry had allowed himself to reveal to people he trusted.

Disclaimer - I do not own Death Note or Harry Potter nor do I make any money from the story. I'm just using the characters for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of those who read. The first part of the broadcast comes from the Death Note DVD and not my imagination. The second part was taken from the DVD as well, though I put my own spin on it. I do not own those words that come from the first part nor the idea for the second.

Chapter Nine: Dialogues

Time passed in odd fits and spurts of fast and slow. When Watari had returned from the meeting with the ICPO, the detective and wizard had discussed the broadcast plans, telling him about Harry's suggestion in regards to the script for the second half of the transmission. It made the green eyed male feel better when the caretaker had agreed that changing the dialogue was a good idea. While the two worked on fixing that problem, Harry immersed himself in research, occasionally offering his opinion in regards to the upcoming broadcast.

Before the evening of the televised event, a distraction was offered in the form of a follow-up visit with the doctor for Harry. While he was out of the suite, a thick file had been delivered into L's hands, pulling him away from his duties to focus on what the physician had discovered. The contents of the file had the normally impassive detective squirming.

The blood test results showed signs of severe malnutrition in the past, keeping the wizard from growing into a height considered normal for a male of his ancestry. According to the research L had managed to get done, Harry's parents had considered tall so the wizard's height was definitely not a genetic inheritance.

Other test findings showed limited nerve damage and physical exams revealed old scars, some of which had to have occurred during early childhood. All of this painted a very dark picture of the childhood of one Harrison James Potter-Black.

The doctor had also noted that her patient was in remarkable shape considering what the exams showed. She recommended a daily regimen of vitamin and nutritional potions as well as a prescribed meal plan. The meal plan was quickly given to Watari to implement, knowing that the older male would see to it that their companion had everything he needed.

"I see you did get the file. Doctor Whitmore said she'd sent a copy for you to review."

At the tired sounding voice, L looked up to find the wizard taking a seat across from him. He'd never heard the other man enter the suite; that fact didn't settle too well with the detective, who had good senses. It was rare anyone managed to sneak up like that without him hearing them.

"She did. The meal plan was given to Watari to start. I imagine your house elf friend will be helpful to him for that."

Harry nodded, grateful to have that taken out of his hands. He wasn't sure he would have wanted to explain to the elderly retainer just why a special diet was needed. Dr. Whitmore had insisted on it, telling him that even though he was in great shape, the malnutrition in his past had weakened certain aspects of his health. A balanced diet would help keep him healthy in the years to come.

"I'll be sending a letter to Hermione, requesting the potions the doctor prescribed. She can reach the potions master I trust the most and have him make them for me. I imagine you have questions for me?"

L settled back in his seat, ignoring the file in front of him for the moment as he began to question the other in regards to the suspicions that had been forming.

"You attended both a public primary school and a private secondary one?"

"I did," Harry nodded, trying to get comfortable. He wasn't looking forward to this, knowing the intelligent male would not leave it if he gave simple answers to the questions that would be coming.

"How was this not noticed by school officials? It's hard not to notice a starved and battered child in the middle of England."

"To be honest, some people did notice and were quickly hushed. Teachers and school nurses were moved to other positions and never brought the issue up again. As for the school matron at Hogwarts, she wasn't allowed to file the reports but did try to help me where she could."

L shook his head as this made very little sense to him. Seeing this, Harry began speaking of something that he, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and one other had researched after the fall of Voldemort.

"There was a prophecy made when I was born stating that a child born as the seventh month died would have the power to destroy the Dark Lord. After my parents died and it was determined that I was the 'Chosen One,' Dumbledore decided to place his pawns in positions that would best suit his needs. My parents' Will was sealed, and I was placed with my mother's sister and family. The Headmaster had been warned by my mother not to do this as my aunt and her family despised anything 'abnormal,' and I would definitely be seen as such."

L's stomach sank as Harry continued. He could see where this was going but didn't stop the other, sensing the need to vent a bit.

"He didn't speak out when my godfather was arrested and placed me in my aunt's house knowing full well what would happen to me. I later found old correspondence between them reporting what was going on and him encouraging them to enforce discipline in hopes of learning to control myself and my accidental magic."

The detective frowned deeply, remembering Watari explaining that accidental magic really couldn't be controlled by the children as often times their magic reacted to extreme emotions. The person from the Ministry had told the inventor how to handle the magical children when they lost control and not once had discipline been encouraged as a means of teaching the kids how to handle their magic. L didn't speak but nodded, telling Harry silently to continue.

"When someone did notice what was going on and start an investigation, Dumbledore would remove their memories and have them removed from their positions. He placed Madam Pomfrey under compulsion spells in order to keep her silence."

L shook his head; all of this was making a sick sort of sense. A part of him wished he could bring this Dumbledore fellow to justice for doing this to a child.

"He wanted you conditioned to accept his authority so you wouldn't question any action he made."

"Exactly," was Harry's sad answer. "I loved the man, trusted him, and he played with my life like it was nothing more than a mere toy to him. I walked into everything blindly, no information given to me at all. Even after his death, I was stuck on a course set by him and figuring things out at the last minute."

A child being broken by such horrible means simply so he could fight a war that he shouldn't have been a part of? All of this didn't sit well with L, upsetting his sense of justice, and after Harry started writing his letter to his friend, he sent off a quick email to what had to be the top computer information gathering specialist in the world, asking him to find any information regarding Harry's former guardians. He trusted that Matt would find anything that could be used if such information existed.

After Harry had gone to bed later that night, L had a long talk with his retainer, sharing what the wizard had told him. The elderly man shook his head with a look of angered disgust on his face.

"It doesn't seem right to abuse a child like that. I hope Matt does come up with something that can be used."

L stabbed his fork viciously into his slice of cake, a scowl on his face as he agreed with the other man.

"So do I."

The conversation weighed heavily on their minds while Harry pushed it aside, focusing on his research and coming with ideas in regards of helping protect the team.

When the evening of the broadcast rolled around, there was a mix of nervousness and excitement that could be felt by all three of them. This was a good chance at making a bit of a break in the case, which was definitely needed.

Harry had been looking for something in his room when L called him, telling him that the first broadcast was about to begin. He came back into the main room in time for the regular programming to go off and heard the voice of the newscaster break into the odd silence.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a special, world-wide broadcast from the ICPO, Interpol. We'll start now."

The wizard could see a nicely dressed man sitting at what looked like a news desk appear on the screen. He knew who the man was and had a bit of a debate with L in regards to this tactic. However, after listening to the detective's argument and seeing the files, Harry had been in agreement with the final decision.

"I am Lind L. Tailor, the sole person able to mobilize the world's police, also known as L. There has been a string of serial killings targeting criminals. This is the most atrocious act of murder in history, and it will not go unpunished. I will definitely catch the one behind the murders, commonly known as 'Kira.' Kira, I have a pretty good idea behind your motive and why you're doing this. But what you're doing is evil!"

Green eyes widened as the one speaking grasped at his chest, making odd sounds that indicated a heart attack. Judging from the stunned expression on L's face, it was obvious that the detective was just as surprised by this as he was. Slender fingers shook for a moment as he reached for the microphone, making Watari give him a questioning look. L shook his head, then focused as the television screen changed to the gothic L monogram he favored when interacting with the outside world.

"Unbelievable. I had to check to be sure because who could think someone could do something like this? It's unfathomable to believe that someone could kill another person without having direct contact with them. I had to see it with my own eyes."

L's first word had been slightly stammered, and Harry couldn't blame him for that. He'd seen it and had been shocked by it. However, the detective's voice gained in strength as he went on with the dialogue they'd prepared for this.

"Listen to me, Kira. If it was you who killed Lind L. Tailor, thinking that person was me, then you were wrong. All you did was murder a man scheduled for execution. You didn't hear of him as the police arrested him in secret, and his trial was also kept from the media. It seems that you couldn't get information on him. Interesting."

His voice trailed off for a moment before going into the part that had both Watari and the Potter-Black lord extremely concerned.

"You did not kill me. I, L, still exist. So come on and try to kill me! C'mon, Kira, kill me! What's the matter, can't you do it?"

Harry's eyes narrowed, focusing his magic around the room as he did so to try to feel anything that would be harmful to the detective. L's gaze was on him as he did this and when the wizard shook his head, telling him silently that nothing had happened, the detective gave him a nod and focused back on the screen.

"So it seems even you have limits, which raises even more questions that will only be answered after you're caught and brought to justice. Until we meet again, Kira…"

He ended the broadcast, then turned to look at his two companions.

"He needs a name and face," Harry muttered. "He couldn't do anything since all he had was your monogram to stare at."

Watari nodded, staring at the readouts on his own laptop before looking back at the two younger men.

"We know he's in the Kanto region. The broadcast was focused in that area."

L nodded, picking up a cookie as he did so. They'd decided to keep the broadcast to one area at a time to try to narrow the field as to where Kira was.

"The killer in Shinjuku was his test subject; the police in Tokyo are very overworked and such a thing could be missed. If I remember correctly, the hostage incident the killer caused had brought a lot of media attention."

The wizard settled in a chair, chewing on his lower lip as he did so. He was trying to think of any kind of magic that could allow someone to kill with simply a name and face.

"They'd have posted at least one photo of him as well as his name, which made it very easy for Kira to strike. Random heart attacks are easy to overlook, and it wouldn't raise a flag with the Ministry of Magic either. Even the Avada curse doesn't make the victim look like it was a heart attack that killed them. The signs of an Avada curse being used is very apparent to those of the magical world."

"Do you think you'll be able to track down what's being used to do this?"

The lord nodded, looking up at Watari while he answered the question posed.

"I think so. I've got reassurances from the Japanese Magical Government that they'll help where they can, providing resources if mine tap out. That'll be a huge help there, especially if I need to access their books."

Dobby had brought the return message not even an hour after Harry had sent his letter to the leader of the Japanese Ministry and the response had been incredibly welcoming and encouraging. Obviously, the Shogun, as the minister in Japan was called, was wary of this Kira and wanted him or her captured as well.

Watari nodded, settling back in his seat. The broadcast had gone better than he'd anticipated and was glad that they had Harry to help. L was reacting better to the wizard's presence than he'd expected considering that his charge was very prickly about having strangers around.

"We'll have to see how things go from here," the caretaker said, making the pair in the room nod.

"Indeed. After we change hotels tomorrow, you'll need to get into contact with the police department so we can start coordinating our efforts for this investigation."

L broke the cookie into pieces as he spoke, obviously working things out in his mind. Harry was making notes of what he could recall of the broadcast, knowing this would help narrow down his research somewhat.

"I'll see to it that it gets done as well as send an updated report to the House's servers tonight," Watari answered, making L nod.

"Good, back-ups are always a wise thing. Harry, have you been typing up your notes to include in the report?"

At L's question, the wizard looked up and gave the other a sheepish grin.

"No, I haven't. I'm sorry to say I've no idea how to type or use a computer. Granted, the magical world is catching up to the muggle one but I've never had time to learn how to use such devices."

Well, that would be a bit of a problem. L shook his head, wondering how the magical world managed to do without such things for so long.

"Well, I don't have a lot going on right now. Would you like to learn?"

The beaming smile from Harry gave an odd sensation to L's stomach, which he was quick to write off as hunger pangs.

"Watari, did we have a laptop for Harry to use?"

The older man laughed softly, knowing that the computer had been collecting dust in the wizard's room.

"Yes, we do actually. Hold on."

A state of the art laptop was set on the table in front of Harry. The case was done in a soft shade of green with silver trim to help keep the computers from being mixed up by their owners.

"Wicked," the wizard said with a grin.

"I take you approve of the color scheme?"

"Rather Slytherin in appearance but very nice," he answered the caretaker with an even bigger grin. "Now let's hope I don't do anything stupid to damage it."

"With L teaching you, you should be fine," Watari reassured him.

The reassurance was nice until he turned to see L smirking at him, and the wizard's stomach sank at that. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this lesson and hoped it wouldn't be as complicated or stressful as his potions class was back at Hogwarts.

When the genius saw the eyes widen and the trepidation settle on the other's face, the smirk grew and he started laughing when he heard Harry squeak out the next question.

"Go easy on me?"

Oh he was going to have fun with this one! L could understand now why teasing was considered so enjoyable, and Harry was definitely easy to wind up. He grinned as he turned to the computer. At least now he'd have something else to take his mind off things when he needed a few moments to clear his thoughts.

"We'll see, Harry, we'll see."

Author's End Note - I hope the broadcast goes over as well as the ICPO meeting did with all of you. I had to seriously rethink how the second portion should go and how much L should give out. Truthfully, I'm a bit concerned on it and really hope that I pulled this off in a good way. Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope my readers enjoy it. Please take the time to review and let me know what you think! Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see everyone again at the next chapter.


	10. A Lesson in Perspective

Author's Note - Wow, it took longer than expected to get this going. I had some bad bouts with health issues as well as some real life drama. Add to that, I ran into issues creatively. This chapter simply didn't want to emerge for a while, and the muses were sluggish at best. I hate it when that happens. I can't thank my readers enough for the thoughtful reviews left. You guys are absolutely brilliant!

Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter or Death Note. The series in question belong to different people, and my name is certainly not on either of them. I just own the plot wombat that spawned this tale!

Chapter Ten - A Lesson in Perspective

Computers were evil.

Emerald eyes glowered at the green and silver monstrosity in front of him, the owner of said eyes grinding his teeth as the machine rebooted itself again. Harry swore up and down it was doing it on purpose, and the wizard was ready to draw his wand and blast the damned thing into oblivion. It was the more logical choice to destroy the abomination as his teacher was somewhat needed due to having to solve this case and all. It was extremely tempting to hex the other as he just knew the man was having a great deal of fun watching him suffer through this, and that just irked the wizard to an extreme amount.

The detective was having a grand time watching his teammate as he struggled to learn how to use the piece of technology in front of him. He had heard very colorful phrases blister the air in Latin and what sounded like a form of Gaelic as well. L had no idea that the young man was so well educated in the older forms of languages and was suitably impressed.

To be honest, the wizard was extremely open right now and it was fun reading the emotions and thoughts as they played on his face. That was a major part of the genius's enjoyment, not that he'd tell anyone that. The last thing L wanted was to have his amusement taken away.

"Seriously, it isn't that difficult," he told him, dark eyes watching the other's expressions as he made the comment to him. Much to his delight, the long haired male gave a frustrated growl as he glared heatedly at the machine before looking at L.

"Easy for you to say! You've been around the bloody contraptions all your life! I haven't been near a computer since primary school!"

"And they've become simpler for users over the years to the point where an idiot can use one if properly motivated."

At that comment, Harry gave L a glare, fingers twitching as if ready to pull out a wand or something to do something dreadful to him.

"I'm not an idiot."

L gave him a small smirk before responding. He was goading the other and knew it, but it was so much fun!

"Really? You're having quite a few problems with something that most children are able to do quite easily."

Harry stared at him for a moment, then turned as he drew his wand. When in doubt, time to call for help. He knew a friend that wouldn't let him down, especially considering she would understand his frustrations about his issues with learning the subject matter at hand.

"Accio communications mirror!"

Dark eyes watched as a small mirror flew from the wizard's room to land into the outstretched hand. He shook his head, imagining what all could be done with such abilities before abandoning that train of thought to see what his companion was about to do.

"Hermione Granger," the wizard called as he stared into the silvered surface of the looking glass.

L angled himself to see the mirror better without being seen when he heard a soft female's voice answer after waiting a few moments.

"Harry? I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon. Is everything all right?"

"If you count engaging in exercises of frustration and futility as being not fine, then no, I'm not. Otherwise, yes, I will be if I can master this Merlin be damned contraption I have been cursed with."

Hermione's eyes widened at the signs of Harry's temper. Whatever it was that was going on had her best friend seriously frustrated.

"What can I do to help?"

"Apparently, writing my notes about my research and ideas isn't enough for my employer," he seethed. "I have to be able to type them up on this abomination that has the audacity to call itself a machine."

To her credit, the witch didn't laugh, though L had the feeling that she was getting very close to doing so. Her eyes sparkled with hidden mirth as she answered the frustrated wizard that was asking for help.

"So you need books on basic computer operations as well as word processing? Anything else?"Harry looked up at L, who shook his head. The detective could handle the upload to the House or have Watari do the task after the end of each day.

"No, I think that'll do for now, 'Mione, unless you can think of other things regarding technology that I may run into?"

"Okay, I'll give it some thought and call for your hyper-active friend when I have the books together for you. Also, the potions requested should be ready before long. He's been working nonstop again."

The Master of Death nodded, looking concerned. He hated it when he heard that, knowing the man in question was trying to keep himself busy so he wouldn't have to face his worst memories again.

"Might want to send Neville to look in on him again," he murmured. "We don't want another relapse."

"Agreed," she answered. "All right, you get back to work and let me get your books together. By the way, Luna sends her love and requests reports on any unusual creature you might come across."

Harry chuckled at that, watching the slightly exasperated look on Hermione's face.

"Right, I'll do so. Give her a kiss for me, and thanks a bunch. You've pretty much saved me from having to undo a lot of hexes."

"Not a problem," she said, giggling as the mirror went back to its normal silvery appearance.

"Prat," he said softly towards the mirror, affection in his voice as he addressed his friend. Hermione was having a good laugh at this, he knew it.

"So you're giving up?"

Green eyes stared at the detective for a moment before the wizard shrugged carelessly, trying to blow off his frustration.

"Going to have to," he answered. "It's either stopping now or having to replace the bloody thing because I've hexed it to oblivion. Don't really want to do that."

L gave a soft chuckle at that, acknowledging that the man was definitely out of patience for now. His fun was done for the moment, but it had been rather amusing to watch the other struggle to learn all of this.

"I suppose you could write it up for now and put it into the system once you read the books your friend sends you," he said with a soft smirk. "Great, more work," Harry snarked back. "It's a bloody nuisance if you ask me. Why do we have to send it to that place anyway?"

"In case we're hacked and the information is compromised, we have placed in a secure location that we can access. Also, my heirs can look over the investigation and point out anything we might have overlooked. It also saves time if I give them a task associated with the case as they can look over the information for themselves instead of me having to brief them on it," he answered.

"I see," the smaller one murmured. "Question, what's hacked?"

L explained the term in a simple way, helping the other understand what hacking meant. Harry got the idea and realized that it was probably a great deal more complicated but certainly was a nasty method of getting information.

"Why would you keep it this way if it can be stolen?"

"Well, the servers we back the data on are kept up to date and monitored by the computer experts. One of my heirs is, without a doubt, the top hacker in the world right now. He can keep it safe by testing it against his own skills."

The wizard leaned back in his seat, thinking on what L had told him. It was pretty mind boggling that people had skills like this.

"He sounds like a wonderful asset to your team. Do all places have people like him to protect their own servers?"

"Sometimes," he answered. "Some will just hire a company to keep things protected. It's not always the best way to do it, but it's some protection at least."

Harry nodded, thinking for a moment.

"Does the police department write everything down and put the information on the server like you do?"

L froze for a moment, mind working overtime.

"Yes, they do," he murmured. "Which means it's possible that there will be hack if Kira wishes to find out what is known about the case.

"Can you use that?"

The detective smirked and nodded, reaching for his cell phone while he answered the other's question. "I certainly can and will."

The call was placed to Matt and the two talked for a short while, discussing the monitoring of the police network regarding the Kira case and any references to criminals that should be in the database. The hacker suggested keeping tabs on forced entrances into the server as well as flagging legitimate ones for scrutiny. It was an idea the international detective agreed with and after consulting a bit more, the heir agreed to bring the other two in on this for extra help.

When the call ended, L was very pleased with how it had gone. He was also happy with how Harry seemed able to bring possible issues up simply by asking questions that the taller male would have overlooked due to knowing this already.

"Harry, I have to thank you."

The green eyed male looked up from his book with a confused expression on his face.

"For what?"

"By explaining things to you, it helped reveal potential risks to the investigation that I would have overlooked."

Harry flashed him a playful grin.

"So keep asking questions then?"

"Yes," L said, looking soberly at his companion. "It has been very fruitful thus far, and I wish to continue on the forward momentum we have been building."

"Not a problem then," the wizard told him. "I'm glad I could help even though I hadn't realized that my questions helped out.

Slender fingers picked up a chocolate panda cookie before the owner of them looked at the man sitting next to him.

"As I said, continue asking them. There may be times that I may be unapproachable but do not stop asking them."

"Consider it done then," he promised. He'd had no idea that his not being familiar with things would be such a help but was glad that he was able to help in some way as the research would take time to yield any sort of fruit for his efforts.

L paused in taking a bite, giving him a light smile. So far, he was pleased that he'd followed the advice in bringing Harry onto the team. If things continued to be so promising, the detective would definitely consider offering him a position in the network.

The two focused on their work for a while, not moving much except to take a sip of tea or nibble at a snack while keeping their eyes focused on the information in front of them. The silence was broken sometime later by a distinct popping sound as Dobby entered the room and set a stack of books.

"Hermione," the wizard roared when he saw the titles. L looked over and couldn't help it as he broke into full laughter.

The witch had sent Harry a series of books, one of which was entitled 'Computers for Dummies.'

Author's End Note - Okay, a bit slow but helps push a bit more plot issues forward. Hopefully, this will help get me out of my rut as well. On top of muse issues, I had a computer problem spring up as well. I added more RAM to my computer only to have the network card die. Finally, I have that fixed and am able to be online more often. I hope everyone enjoyed this and please let me know what you think!


	11. Sharing Information

Author's Notes - Well, it took a while to get this one written. I decided to try the National Novel Writing Month and while I tried, I wound up not having a good time with my muses as the stress just killed my inspiration. The good news is, I have the ground work for a novel that might sell eventually. Bad news is, I didn't make too much progress on it. Oh well, I can always try next year! I want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support for this story. You guys are absolutely fantastic, and I couldn't do it without all the enthusiasm from everyone!

Disclaimer - I do not own the characters of Harry Potter or Death Note. The only thing I own is the idea that's driving this story. I don't make money off of this and am doing it only because I enjoy the challenge.

Chapter Eleven - Sharing Information

The next few days passed in a blur of studying the magical books as well as the damned computer book that Hermione had sent him. Despite the obnoxious title, the book did make it much easier for Harry to understand what L was teaching him. In the midst of all the activity, he also found time to help L review the information as it came in, helping him organize it in ways that would make it easy to refer back to as well as discussing the data to aid the other in forming hypotheses in regards to the case. Those conversations often left Harry in awe when he saw the detective's powerful intellect at work and considering who one of his best friends was, that was certainly saying something.

The wizard was distracted from a heavy tome that came from the Black library when he heard a sound from the other male. He glanced up, looking at his companion while asking the question that had sprung to mind.

"What is it, L?"

"Kira may be a student," was the quiet response.

Harry set his book down, giving the other his complete attention. Of all the things that could be said, he definitely was surprised by L's announcement and was curious as to how the dark haired male had come up with such a supposition.

"What makes you say that?"

"Come and take a look," he instructed, and Harry rolled his chair to look at the computer monitor to see what it was that the other wanted him to observe.

"This is a breakdown by day and hour. I entered the times when the murders occur. What do you see?"

Emerald eyes focused on the screen, pondering the information he was scrutinizing. It didn't take long for him to see how L had come to this conclusion.

"Looks there's large gaps in between the rounds of murders. Think these are possibly times our target is in class?"

"Exactly. It's the hours the traditional Japanese high school conducts their class times," he answered the other. With a few keystrokes, L had the schedules up for the high schools in the area of Tokyo where Kira had been proven to be. It was a definite match up for the hours of no activity and the times where students had to be in class.

"A teenager is doing this?"

L heard the note of stunned amazement in Harry's voice and nodded, frowning as he did so.

"That or is employed by a high school. However, teachers often stay late in order to finish their paperwork or to grade assignments. So the logical conclusion is that Kira is a high school student."

The green eyed young man shook his head, looking disgusted and stunned by the news, and L continued.

"It makes an odd sort of sense as well. Teenagers have an unusual sense of logic. Our suspect is disillusioned with the judicial system and is utilizing whatever method it is that he's using to kill the prisoners through heart attacks."

"So he or she isn't happy with how things are going with the world's legal systems and decided to play god?"

"I believe so."

The wizard slumped back in his seat, rubbing his eyes as he did so. Even after all that he knew about Tom Riddle, it was still incredible to believe that a teenager could fall so far so quickly. In truth, it was heartbreaking as well as disgusting.

"I don't get it. You said that Kira has above average intelligence when you formed your first profile on him or her. So why do this? Wouldn't it be better to go into law and try to change the laws that guide how criminals are prosecuted and punished instead of all this madness? Surely this has occurred to our target?"

L looked at his companion with a wry expression on his face. The other male had raised a valid point but having grown up where he did, the taller man had one thing to ask.

"Since when do teenagers make sense?"

"You've got a point," Harry wryly conceded.

"I will have to bring all of this to the attention of the investigation team."

"Joy," the wizard muttered sourly. He hadn't been too impressed with the group so far. There were a few that seemed to care about bringing Kira to justice, but most seemed to be cowards and glory hounds. That didn't sit too well with him at all.

L knew of Harry's dislike of the group and understood it. He wasn't very pleased as well and was slowly going through the process of weeding out those that didn't trust him. This case was going to be difficult, and he needed those who would be loyal enough to the investigation to be able to tolerate with the odd demands that would come from the international detective as the case progressed. The detective knew his methods and habits were odd, and he needed to be sure that they would be able to tolerate him well enough for trust to be built.

"Things will be a bit smoother in time," he reassured his companion. "The elimination process will be complete soon enough."

The wizard poured them both some tea, lightly sweetening his own before passing the other cup and the sugar bowl to L. He'd watched a lot of the meetings over L's shoulder, getting a feel for the policemen that were on the team. Some of them he liked, but most left him with an odd taste in his mouth that kept getting worse as the badmouthing of L's methods went on when the cops thought the monitor was off.

"I know, L, but I'd really love to hex a few of them to get them to grow the hell up and realize that this isn't about them. Granted, your methods may seem unorthodox but they work. They should be grateful to have the help considering that this is way out of their league."

L hid a tiny smile at that. Harry had watched him work on other cases while waiting for data to come in on the Kira case and had seen the results of what he did. It seemed he'd gained a loyal companion in the wizard, and the detective was grateful for that. Most people he worked with, though hidden behind the scenes, didn't appreciate his methods until the results were handed to them.

"We have to be patient in order to get the team that will work hard and be loyal," he answered. "You will see that the results will be very much worth the wait. This I promise you."

"I trust you," the wizard answered. "It's just frustrating watching and listening to them go on about how you must be some mad megalomaniac that wants to be a dictator or something along those lines. They must know that you know what you're talking about. Surely they researched you before joining the team?"

"It is possible that some of them did, but it is debatable on whether most of them care even if the information is in front of them. Police are very much stuck on staying within procedure, even if it means not catching the villain quickly enough or not having the evidence needed to convict him."

That made little sense to Harry. The aurors that worked for the British Ministry for Magic were the same way. Procedure was good for certain things, but there were always some cases that simply couldn't be handled by following strict guidelines.

"That's something that really needs addressing. People are being let down by their own judicial system because justice isn't being handed out properly, either due to not enough evidence or the laws simply not being enough to help push a case through. Maybe this can come out once the Kira case is over and give the nudge the governments need to really overhaul the system in their country."

L picked up a plate of strawberry cake as he listened to Harry's words and agreed with him. Perhaps this case would provide the incentive needed. However, given how some countries were very much stuck in tradition, it would take time to encourage change and allow it to grow.

"We shall see what happens. I do agree that change is needed, and this is probably a motivator for Kira. I do realize that change will be slow in occurring though. Most people fear it a great deal, even when it is needed."

"Trust me, I know," the wizard responded. "The magical world in England is a prime example of how slow change can happen. There's been a lot of progress since the war, but it's frustrating to see how a lot of the people are dragging their heels in regards to making the changes needed in order to ensure that no more dark lords will pop up. Did you know that Britain has the highest number of dark lords showing up in their history than any other country?"

The detective froze at that bit of information, fork poised close to his mouth, and he turned to stare at the other.

"Is that proven fact?"

"Yes, it is. The introduction of the wizards and witches born to muggle parents has caused a great deal of consternation amongst the families that are considered old and pure. They fail to realize that bringing the muggle-born into the magical society and families is what's needed to keep magic pure and strong in them. The cause for concern would be eliminated if they studied genetics and kept up with what's going on in muggle society. If you were to ask a member of the pureblood families what muggles do, they would tell you that muggles are illiterate, ill-mannered, and burn magical people due to prejudice.

"Add the bigotry to the ignorance of muggle society, and you've got prime breeding ground for discontent and that's just what a person of low morals needs to rise to power."

L set the fork down, forgetting about food as he continued to stare in stunned disbelief at what he was hearing.

"I had read some of the information about the magical world but had no idea that it was so imbalanced like that. What is being done to change this?"

Harry got comfortable in his seat, answering the question with ease. He'd often discussed this with his friends, amazed by what was changing and a bit frustrated that it was happening at a pace that needed to be faster. However, he knew that the magical world needed time to adapt.

"For starters, changes are being made in the government. Muggle-born are being allowed to take positions in the government to allow for laws to be made against the bigotry that's run rampant for so long as well as how to educate the magical world about the mundane one. Magical primary schools are being updated in regards to the advances made in muggle society, and those changes are being enforced with the home-schooled children. Every child must pass an exam each year in order to remain home-schooled, and the curriculum includes muggle history as well as sciences and literature. This will reach the parents teaching them and allows for them to learn as well.

"Changes are being made in Hogwarts too. The Muggle Studies class now has a muggle-born teaching it, with updated information, and field trips are mandatory. However, in order to appease the people who have been in the magical world, guidelines and laws have been enacted to preserve the magical society. In order to keep the traditions and beliefs of the magical world intact and to allow the muggle-born and muggle raised wizards and witches a chance to catch up to their peers, we are now bringing them into a small school to instruct them on magical basics such as penmanship, culture, and basic magical instruction two years before they're admitted to Hogwarts at eleven."

Dark eyes watched the wizard as he spoke, listening to Harry as he explained the changes being made to the magical world. L couldn't imagine this would be accepted too easily by a culture that had stagnated for so long and allowed for such bigotry and ignorance to run rife as it had.

"This can't be coming as easily as you make it sound."

Harry laughed bitterly at that; L was certainly right. It hadn't been easy at all, and he'd watched from the sidelines as change was pushed onto the ignorant people of the magical world.

"It certainly hasn't been, but there was a very powerful motivator that pushed the Ministry for Magic into making sure this was done. It seems the so-called 'terrorist' attacks that happened during the war with Voldemort attracted the queen's attention, and she was very displeased when she was escorted through Diagon Alley and the Ministry building. It grew even worse when the education system was explained as well as the reasons why most of the purebloods joined Voldemort during the war. When she realized what was going on, Her Majesty had the governing body, the Wizengamot, as well as the press, including a reporter for the Wireless radio, assemble and she told them that the magical world would no longer be able to progress as it has.

"She announced that changes would be made as she would not allow any of her subjects to continue to live in abject ignorance nor would she permit another war. Her Majesty reminded them that they were subject to British law and as such, they would have to bow to her wishes. She then outlined what she wanted and said that she wanted a workable plan presented to the Prime Minister within a month to be accepted or vetoed by him and her. If the magical world refused, she would revoke the treaty between the mundane and magical governments and bring down the barriers between our worlds. Apparently, those are maintained by certain runes within the castles the royal family lives in and are fed by the will of the ruling monarch. If Queen Elizabeth decides that the division between the two worlds has gone on long enough, she can deactivate the runes with the right ritual."

L blinked at that, considering what he was hearing. It made sense that the ruling family would know of the magical world as well as the Prime Minister. That the queen could bring the barriers down like that was a tremendous surprise to the detective.

"That could not have gone over well with the citizens of the magical world."

"Too right it didn't," Harry responded, running fingers through his hair. "There were arguments and protests all over, but it had to be done. Hermione and a few other muggle-born slowly began introducing muggle technology into areas where it could come in handy. Once they began to realize that there was a lot of good in learning about the rest of the world and adapting to the changes, then the transition became just a tad bit smoother. It'll take time for everyone to understand and appreciate what's going on. There has been one good thing to come out of it; the magical creatures are becoming a more integrated part of society and the restrictions are slowly coming down."

The detective rested his hands on his knees, mind working overtime as he contemplated the facts that had been given to him. He knew how things operated in his world and looking at all of this, he definitely understood how Kira could have gotten to the point where he was right now. It seemed that the resistance to change definitely was a universal concept in both his world and Harry's.

"I pushed myself to become an international detective to see if I could do it, to challenge myself, but also to serve justice and change the world. All the ones that are a part of my network are the same and have the same goal - to change the world."

Harry gave a small smile as he heard that.

"It can be done. It's slow as hell to happen, but a tiny snowflake can cause an avalanche in time. We just have to be patient and see it through."

L nodded, still lost in thought. He would have to see about having Watari push a bit more to help the magical students at the House learn skills to bring to the magical world. Not only would it help his network but help to stabilize the world those children under the care of Whammy's House and keep them safe. It would also put them in positions that would enable them to get information to the network that could be of use.

"With everything you've told me, do you know how the Japanese magical society handles everything?"

"I'd wondered when you'd ask," he said softly. "I wrote to the Shogun about the magical culture here and had Dobby do some research on it. They're probably one of the most advanced societies in the magical world. The children go to a magical academy at the time muggle children start kindergarten. They're taught both muggle and magical subjects, emphasizing the need to understand both worlds. Bigotry is a thing of the past here as muggle-born witches and wizards are welcomed eagerly as it's new blood to integrate into the society."

"So, in all probability, Kira may not be a wizard," L mused, contemplating what Harry had shared with him.

The Master of Death shook his head, sipping his tea for a moment to collect his thoughts so he could address the comment L had made.

"I wouldn't mark that possibility off entirely. Maybe it is a witch or wizard with a grudge against muggles, especially criminals. It could be that they or their family were wronged somehow and decided to handle the problem, ignoring that they'd already been prosecuted. Then again, you could be right and it's a muggle doing this with some sort of magical ritual or device that he or she is able to use."

"Too many possibilities," the genius muttered. "Way too many possibilities and not enough facts. This is becoming more of a challenge than I had originally anticipated."

"Which makes the case more unique and interesting," Harry pointed out, having learned how L approached some things during the time he'd spent with him. "I think this is what you were hoping for when you accepted the case."

"I was," he admitted, not a little bit chagrined to find that the other had learned this much about him so far. "I prefer things to challenge me if at all possible."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of when you consider it that way," he answered him. "You've also got goals to see that justice is carried out, which really is a noble thing. Most people lose sight of that."

"All of that and the fact I hate to lose," the detective told him. "I tend to be childish when I don't win, which is a problem I believe Kira has as well."

"To be honest, L, most men have an element of childishness in them or so Hermione reminds me each time I do something to set her off," he chuckled softly. "It just might serve us well in this case, provided we approach it the right way."

L nodded, remembering Harry's reactions to the original ideas of confronting and antagonizing Kira.

"Indeed, careful planning is required. In the meantime, I had better advise the team of the new information that has come to light."

"Ten galleons says that someone pitches a fit on it," the wizard grumbled and L smirked, showing his amusement at that.

"I believe that would be called a sucker's bet," he told his companion while turning to the computer. The soft laugh he got from the wizard rang in his ears as he activated the command to have his logo show up on the computer that he was monitoring remotely. Yes, it was definitely nice not having to do this alone.

Author's End Note - A little bit longer than usual and hopefully, it'll please everyone. I had hoped to get this out sooner but real life is a pain. I was involved in a car accident right before Christmas, found not to be at fault by the police, but the other driver's insurance decided to believe their client over the police. So now I have to get things hammered out as my car is considered a loss. Hopefully, I can get the next chapter done before too long. It'll depend on how real life pans out. Thank you again for reading! See everyone soon!


	12. Shopping Excursion

Author's Notes - Well, the accident's aftermath still hasn't been resolved, which is highly frustrating. Apparently, the ticket was dismissed so things have to go another way and now, I'm waiting for lawyer to touch base with me. I hate that things like this take so long to get nailed out legally. All I really wanted was to either get my car repaired or replace it since the examiner said it was pretty much a loss. All this stress isn't helping my other health issues either. Add to that, we moved and my luck decided to go down the toilet. My computer died, and my cat is acting being psycho. Please accept my apologies for taking so long to get this out.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed and also placed me on alert. It's a genuinely uplifting thing to find in one's email. Also, a huge thank you to SilverShadowFire for helping me name Kakumerichi as well as give me an idea as to what to do for it.

Disclaimer - I do not own either "Harry Potter" or "Death Note." I am also not making any money from this story and am writing it simply to challenge myself as well as kill the plot wombat that has been nomming at its cage.

Chapter Twelve – Shopping Excursion

It was probably a good thing that L hadn't taken the bet because the detective would be out a sum of money. The reaction to the genius's announcement in regards to his belief that Kira was a high school student had been varied and quite loud. The majority of it had been in denial of the information presented to them.

Harry could somewhat understand the reluctance to accept that a teenager could be behind all of the deaths, but he was a bit frustrated at the attitudes of the detectives that did not want to believe the facts that had been set in front of them. L had no reason to falsify data so this reluctance to accept reality was irritating.

Once the audio feed from their side had been ended, the wizard began pacing in order to try to work off the agitation caused by the meeting. L watched him as he strode up and down the living area, sipping his overly sweetened tea as he did so.

"That lot must have a combined IQ of fifty," he growled as he kept pacing, trying to keep his magic from reacting to his temper.

"Perhaps," the detective answered, sounding amused. "However, their presence is required at the moment. It is my hope that we will have the most dedicated of them working for me soon which should limit the arguments considerably. Most police detectives are very touchy about outside help. That is what hinders things for me when I am asked to aid a department's investigation."

"Makes me wonder at why you do this then," Harry told him. "If you get garbage like that all the time, you must get tired of it. The general stupidity of the magical world at times was another reason why I left it as I have. I can't imagine having to tolerate it as often as you must to get things done."

"I try to remember that they are necessary on various levels," L told him. "Most of the time, detectives do a very good job at solving crimes in their cities. I respect what they do, at least the ones who are thorough at their job and are not lazy. When I am called in, they are important for the leg work of the investigation."

"And being trained cops, they usually see more than the average human being," the wizard finished, understanding and respecting the man a bit more for what he did.

"Exactly so and this makes my work a bit less demanding. I do get the occasional detective that prefers to be lazy, and that makes things much more annoying. However, the challenge is still there and justice is won. That's all that matters."

"I'd still be apt to hex a few," the green eyed male said with a wry tone in his voice. "I can be patient to a point, but morons tend to get on my nerves rather quickly."

L gave a bit of a crooked smirk at that, wondering what kind of hexes his companion would use when agitated.

"You are a bit agitated at this," he observed after a few moments. "Perhaps you need to spend some time outside to help calm down."

Harry thought for a moment, pondering the suggestion. He had looked over the master list of books and realized that his foreign information was a bit lacking despite centuries of collecting by the two families he headed.

"I think popping down to the magical areas would be a good idea," he shared. "There's some information I need to find and browsing through the various bookstores might not hurt."

L perked up at that, interested in the chance to explore a new area since he hadn't done so before. If Watari was home during the time a child went to Hogwarts, the elderly male would escort the student through Diagon Alley to purchase the school supplies. Whammy's House had a library dedicated to magic as the students would keep a list of books the house had and would add to it when they found something that hadn't been included. Because of that, L had not had a reason to go explore the magical areas.

"I wouldn't be adverse to going with you," he said to the other one, catching him by surprise.

"You want to go with me," Harry asked, sounding a bit stunned. He knew L could be a recluse, protecting his identity by remaining so isolated.

"Well, it will be an educational experience for one," he answered. "Secondly, another pair of eyes might pick up on something that could be useful while in the stores. It may also give me a chance to learn a bit while the data compiles here."

"It surprises me because I know you rarely go outside," the wizard commented, pointing out one of the few facts he knew about the other.

"True, it is rare that I do but I am certain that you have a method of hiding my appearance in case we do run into an unsavory element."

"I do know some glamour charms," Harry said, checking to ensure his wand was in its holster. "You'll need to dress the part when we're about to enter through the portal into the magical area."

"I can tolerate that," L said, making a rare concession since he didn't want to stand out in the new area just yet. Usually, he didn't care but since Harry was rather well known, anything to keep them from being noticed outside of a couple of tourist wizards was a good idea.

"All right then," he murmured. "Let me get changed and grab a couple of robes and cloaks."

Harry went into his room, coming out a few moments later. He had donned a robe and was fastening a cloak on as he emerged from his bedroom.

"I got the lightest weight robes and cloak I have on hand," he explained, helping L get into them. Watari had mentioned to him once that the detective preferred certain things because they were comfortable, and that had stuck with him when choosing the garments for the other.

"They certainly are cumbersome," the taller male said after getting into the clothing. Though created from a nice lightweight fabric, they were still bulky for someone not used to wearing such things.

"It takes getting used to," Harry agreed, then pulled his wand. "I'm going to use a couple of charms on both of us. The first is to hide the clothing until we reach the magical area. The second is to alter our appearance."

The shaggy haired detective nodded, tilting his head as the spells settled over him. L felt an odd blanketing tingling feeling, recording it into his memory for future study when time allowed.

"Right then, shall we be off?"

L followed the wizard out of the suite, texting Watari as he did so to inform him of their excursion. The older male answered back rather quickly, telling L to keep him updated in case they needed someone to pick them up after their time shopping and exploring. The detective agreed, then pocketed his phone.

"We'll have to remember to take him with us if another trip is needed," Harry said, having a feeling that L had just told their older companion of their destination.

"He's familiar with Diagon Alley but might find this educational and interesting," L commented in reply.

"You've not seen Diagon Alley," the wizard asked as they flagged down a taxi once they left the hotel. When it stopped for them, Harry cast a spell to disguise their conversation during the drive.

"Actually no, I haven't had time to do so. Watari said it can be interesting if one overlooked how outdated a lot of the items offered there were," he replied.

"When I started school, I was floored when they requested the use of quills and parchment. Now, I have to force myself to use a pen when needed. The one good thing about using quills was that my penmanship became considerably better as time went by," he laughed. "It was that or listen to the teachers bicker over how poor the chicken scratch was that they had to read when grading essays."

"It seems an awkward method of writing," L murmured.

"At first, yes, it was very awkward. I imagine it'd be worse for you considering how you hang onto objects," the smaller male returned, having observed the other hold things with a very odd two fingered grip. If Harry hadn't known better, he would have sworn that the detective had mysophobia.

"Yes, it would be awkward," the detective returned, getting out of the taxi once it reached its destination. He handed the correct amount of yen to the driver and waited for Harry to take the lead.

Harry shook his head as he viewed the building that held the portal into the hidden area the magical world had created for this city.

"A bathhouse," L asked, making the wizard chuckle.

"Well, I assume these are still popular in Japan," he replied. "No one would question the amount of people entering and exiting. There's a notice-me-not charm on a specific room where the portal is. You'll have to hold onto my arm when I get to that area."

L nodded, following him in. Harry guided him through the entryway and towards a different area. When the signal was given, he touched his companion's arm and blinked when he was guided through what had been a solid wall.

"That was unusual," he observed.

"Be prepared for unusual," Harry reminded him as he walked towards a set of sliding doors. He drew his wand, tapping once on the area where the sliding doors met before putting it into his holster. With a gentle motion, the wizard slid the door open.

"Welcome to Kakumerichi," he told his companion as the magical village was revealed to the detective's eyes.

"This isn't an alley," the taller male stated, making the smaller one chuckle.

"No, it isn't," the Master of the Deathly Hallows answered as he stepped forwards to begin exploring the new area.

"It's an entire village hidden within a city," L observed, sounding baffled and amazed. "How is this possible? Satellites would have detected this."

"You would think so," Harry told him. "However, there is always one branch of the mundane government in every country that is aware of our world. Technology is manipulated through runes to help convince the computers that the blank space it sees doesn't exist."

"So literally, the computers are made to not even see the blank areas that are protected by magic? How is that done?"

"I'm not entirely certain," the lord answered. "I think we can find some books on it though because it was a Japanese wizard that came up with the rune combinations that made it possible to do so. I'd be interested in reading on it too when I've got the time to look it over."

L nodded, pondering the potential of it. If they found the books, he would send them back to Whammy's House once he'd finished reading them. He had a feeling his heirs would be very interested in the knowledge and knowing Matt, the knowledge would be experimented with for practical use for the Organization. He happened to know that a few of the magic users that worked for it were knowledgeable in runes.

Harry led the detective down a street, looking at the signs as he did so. Green eyes soon spotted what he was looking for and the wizard smiled, wondering how his companion would react to the various materials the shop would hold.

"Here we go," he said, turning them towards the book store. The information he'd heard about this area had stated that Kobayashi's was one of the best book sellers in Japan, which was what he needed right about now.

The pair of them entered the store, answering the polite greetings gave to them by the staff with polite answers of their own. Harry was erring on the side of caution, not wanting to offend anyone due to his lack of education concerning Japanese culture and traditions. Wizards held long memories for the most part, and he did not want anyone upset with him just yet.

"Welcome to Kobayashi's, honored guest. How may I help you?"

Harry pulled back the hood of his cloak as he answered in a soft tone of voice. He knew he looked foreign, even with the glamour charms he was using to disguise some of his better known features.

"I am looking for books on Japanese wizarding customs, history, and books on magical creatures native to Japan."

"I can point you to the right sections," the sales assistant told them. "We only keep the most accurate on our shelves for those particular sections."

"That's good to know," Harry answered. "Some of the stores back home aren't as particular, which makes it a headache to sort through."

"I can only imagine," the clerk answered. "Follow me, please," he said, leading the two into the right area.

The British wizard drew in a slow breath as he followed the employee, enjoying the smell of leather bindings and parchment. Though he wasn't as big a bookworm as Hermione, he did enjoy reading and spending time in his library. From the corner of his eye, he could see L draw in a breath and hold for a moment, almost as if he was also savoring the scent that surrounded them.

"Here you are, sirs. The magical creatures area will be four rows behind this section. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No but thank you. I think we'll browse afterwards to see if anything catches our attention."

The clerk gave a polite nod as he answered Harry.

"Of course sir. If you find a book that you wish to purchase, just tap it with your wand and speak your name. You can retrieve them once you approach the front desk to make your purchase."

"Thank you again," the wizard told the other. "You've been exceedingly helpful."

"You are most welcome, sir," the sales assistant answered, giving a bow before leaving the two alone.

Once he knew that the store's employee was out of earshot, Harry turned to the shelves to begin looking for books that would give the information he needed.

"Right," he murmured to himself as he began scanning over the titles. "Let's see what we can find here."

L nodded, looking over the books as well. He had a general idea of what his associate was looking for and was curious to see what he could find. It wasn't often he could explore a bookstore like this, and he planned to make the most of it.

The two went over books, discussing the potential of each one in a low voice before either returning it to the shelves or allowing it to disappear to the front desk with a tap of Harry's wand. It didn't take too long before they'd found what they needed in regards to history and culture before heading over to the magical creature area.

"Merlin, this section is huge," Harry murmured to himself. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to figure out where to get started.

"I had not realized there would be so much information on creatures," L admitted as he stared at the multitude of shelves that contained the books on magical creatures.

"Neither did I," the wizard said to him. "I'm going to be buried in books for eternity," he grumbled comically.

"Hopefully not that long," the detective deadpanned. "I'd rather clear this problem and move onto other ones."

"True," Harry said with a wry grin before picking up a book. "Best get started then."

The two of them stayed in the bookstore for several hours, choosing books on magical creatures as well as ones that dealt with the runes that helped protect the magical societies from being noticed by the mundane world. All in all, it was time well spent and Harry was rather pleased.

The wizard paid for the purchases and shrank the bags, pocketing them easily as he did so. He would have to update the library list for the house he resided at but knew Dobby could handle that easily once he was given the titles and authors.

"Right, I think we have a bit of time for something fun before heading back," he told his companion. Harry had the perfect idea too, knowing L's habits as he did by this point in time.

"What do you mean, Orion?"

Green eyes met gray as the smaller male gave him a bright smile.

"Come on," he said, gesturing to where they needed to go. "I think it's time you were introduced to another facet of the wizarding world."

"What's that," the detective asked, sounding very curious about what his associate had planned next. So far, everything had been very educational.

"Sweets shop," he answered. "I could use a few things, and I know the sweets of the magical world will interest you."

Harry had to laugh when he was pulled towards the shop in question. He had a feeling the taller male would be interested in that once it was mentioned. L's sweet tooth was becoming a normal event in their routine, although he had noticed that Watari made the man eat one normal meal a day.

The two entered the shop and L took the lead, exploring every aisle with an almost childlike fascination. He would listen to Harry's explanation of the sweets that the wizard was familiar with, grateful for the knowledge when he almost put Acid pops into his basket.

Harry was pretty fascinated with the Japanese sweets once they got out of the aisles that held the candies he was familiar with. He put the ones he wanted to try into the basket, knowing he'd probably have to lock his own sweets away to keep a certain sugar addicted detective out of his stash.

"Remember, some of these can't be eaten around people who don't know of the magical world," he reminded the other as they headed to check out.

"I imagine certain items would draw questions," L answered, waiting somewhat impatiently for their turn to be rung up. "I'll make sure to be careful and warn Watari to be as well."

"Good," he said. "We'll divide this lot up when we get back to the hotel. I don't fancy having to argue over it when researching later, and I know how you are about your sugary snacks."

Gray eyes blinked for a moment after listening to Harry. Had he become that predictable? He hadn't thought so but would ask Watari afterwards. Being predictable wasn't something he wanted, especially in his line of work.

"Ryuuzaki? Hello?"

L blinked again, then looked at his companion when the smaller male started snapping fingers in front of his face.

"I am here," he told the other. "I was just thinking."

"No kidding," Harry answered, taking the basket from him. "You must've been way beyond Pluto considering how long I was calling for your attention."

The taller male frowned a bit, not having realized that he'd been distracted by his thoughts for that long. Usually he was more aware of his surroundings when he made his rare public appearances. He wasn't sure why he'd just done that but would have to examine what had caused it.

"Right," Harry said, paying for the sweets and shrinking the bags to be put away in one of his pockets. "Is there anything else you wish to see while we're out, Ryuuzaki, or are you ready to head back to work?"

"While this has been a very interesting excursion, I believe I am ready to return to work," he answered as he followed the long haired male out of the shop. "There is still a lot to be done."

"Agreed but at least we got what we wanted to find," the wizard answered as he headed for the bath house. "Let's just hope that it's got what we need. I wouldn't mind coming back here eventually to do a bit more exploring when we have more time."

"It was very informative and if the sweets are acceptable, we shall have to return to purchase more of them," L told his companion, then looked a bit baffled when Harry began laughing.

Author's End Note – Once again, thank you all for your patience. I did make a bit of a longer chapter and will begin working on chapter thirteen. I need to bring a certain character in soon and am trying to frame out the chapter for his appearance. We'll see how it goes. I really hope everyone enjoyed this and please let me know of your thoughts. Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!


	13. His Move…Their Plan

Author's Notes – In regards to the character that this chapter focuses a bit on, I'm a bit on the fence honestly. He has a lot of potential in regards to what he could have done with his abilities but chose the easy way to handle his boredom and frustration with how things were going in the world. I'll have to see how it works through the story in regards to what I will eventually do with him.

My apologies for those who have been waiting so patiently for an update. I've been caught up with real life issues and also finished my first novel, submitting it to be looked over for possible publication. Please keep fingers crossed for me!

Disclaimer – I do not own either works or the characters that this story utilizes. I'm just simply borrowing them for my own sense of fun!

Chapter Thirteen – His Move…Their Plan

Raito Yagami was definitely enjoying himself so far. He had not only managed to gain access to a book that was helping him change the world but had stymied the world's greatest detective for the moment. The television broad cast had provided little evidence to the mysterious man, and Raito was enjoying that immensely.

The only dark cloud on his horizon at this point in time was that he knew his activities were the target of a very large investigation. Raito was not too worried though, knowing he was intelligent enough to keep ahead of the detectives. He knew his father was a part of the investigation as well, and the fact that his parent was heading it on the Japanese side made it easier to stay ahead.

The teenage genius leaned back in his desk chair, smirking as he did so. He carded fingers through his hair, amber eyes focusing on the computer screen.

"What's going on, Raito?"

The teenager reached out, grabbing an apple from the bowl on his desk to toss it to the hulking figure that was floating behind him.

"Thinking on what needs to be done from this point, Ryuk. Even though it seems L is stumped for the moment, I have to be careful to not draw attention to me. Whether or not he can get close is something we'll have to wait and see."

Raito leaned forward, fingers going to the keyboard, and he typed in a familiar address into the URL box on his navigator screen. Within moments, the young genius put in his father's ID and password, then began reading over the case notes the team had entered into their database.

"From the looks of things, they still haven't determined where Kira is but it seems that L believes that Kira is a high school student. Judging from what I'm reading, it looks like some of the members of the team don't agree with him, despite the evidence L had presented to them. This might make things easier for me."

The shinigami looked over his shoulder, taking a look at the odd human device the other was studying.

"How so?"

"By discrediting L," Raito answered, fingers tapping on the desk. "Most of the team doesn't know that he's right in regards to the fact that I'm in school still. So I need to see what the full capabilities of the Death Note are. If it does like I'm hoping it will, I can change the schedule of when people die to show the team that L was wrong about the timing. If he's wrong on that, then what else can he be wrong about?"

The oddly shaped creature gave an evil leer at that. The human was shaping up to become something he was enjoying a great deal.

"So you're going to work with the Death Note again?"

The high school student nodded, picking up his pen and turning on his television.

"Time to experiment and set my plan into motion."

The shinigami cackled, watching the human as he began implementing his plan to thwart the detective that was looking for him.

Things were definitely interesting and becoming more so!

Harry rubbed a slender hand over his eyes, setting down the thick book he'd gotten from the shopping trip to Kakumerichi. He glared at the computer beside him, watching as L silenced the odd ringing by entering a few commands. The wizard sighed in relief as the noise stopped, going back to his reading.

"What is it, Matt?"

A soft voice, young but carrying the air of intelligence, responded to L's question.

"You wanted me to let you know if the Japanese police's database had been accessed from an outside source."

Both Harry and L were focused on the computer when they heard the answer.

"It has, but it's not an invasive thing. There's been six log-ins made so far, and all of them are from addresses listed as the homes of the detectives assigned to the taskforce. I'm chasing down the IPs again, but it looks legitimate from here."

The detective frowned, thinking on what his heir had said.

"Continue to keep a watch over the system and see how often these log-ins happen to discover repeat visits. Pull Near and Mello in to help you. If you three can get this information, find out if the owners of the passwords were home or not."

"All right, L. Mello's been pretty antsy so he'll be glad to have something to do. We'll get this information if we can, and I'll report back on the IPs that have been accessing the system."

"I shall be waiting for that report," he answered, then ended the call.

"Do you think one of those people who accessed the computer system was Kira?"

L picked up a cauldron cake, nibbling on it before answering Harry's question.

"It is something I would do so I believe Kira could have been one of the visitors to the database. If so, then it means his signature will change somewhat. Whether it will be a drastic change remains to be seen."

Harry set his book down, turning a bit to face his coworker. A thought had occurred to him, and he hoped that he wasn't right.

"If it was him, it means he knows that you believe he's a high school student. Given your current profile of Kira, he'll try to find a way to discredit you."

"I know," he answered, setting his cake back onto the plate. "I also know there is a high probability of at least one negative report regarding my contributions to the investigation. That would only further his desire to see me discredited in front of the police. The odds of him changing his methods are incredibly high. How he will change them remains to be seen. If it does change, it will give us a bit more insight into the weapon he is using to commit these crimes."

"Every scrap we gain is a help, I agree, but what will you do if his signature changes? A lot of the detectives in the task force are showing signs of not wanting to work with you. If something changes, proving you wrong, then it will show a lot of them that they would be right in what they assume about you."

"I could report the potential security breech but will refrain from doing so until I have the information from my heirs to support my claim. All I can do is lay out the hypothesis as it forms. Whether or not they decide to believe it is up to them."

Harry touched the book he'd been reading, thinking over what he'd been researching so far.

"I haven't found any type of cursed object listed that can do what Kira is doing, but there's a lot more data to go through. From there, I'll check on magical creatures and keep trying to find the weapon Kira is using. There's literally centuries of knowledge to try and go through."

The detective nodded, understanding that his coworker was doing his best so far. If he could risk it, he would have suggested more researchers but L didn't feel comfortable with bringing more unknowns into the equation. He knew Harry had his friends swear magical oaths, but the shaggy haired male felt more comfortable having fewer individuals to keep track of. If it came down to it, he would allow the wizard to bring in the people he trusted.

"Just continue on as you have been. The information will be found once we have enough clues to guide us to what the weapon is and who is wielding it."

Harry nodded, then snapped his fingers.

"Reminds me, I was told that the potion will be ready soon for whenever you get the right teammates in for the smaller task force. Hermione has both the oath written out as well as the potion on hand to send for when we need it. Combination of it and the oaths will keep them from speaking of anything about me."

"That is very good news," L told him. "I am pleased your friends were able to get it finished so quickly. This way we will not have to postpone the formation of the smaller task force once the undesirables are weeded out."

"Hopefully, they'll be hard working individuals with an open mind. I'm not certain I could contain my temper if they wind up anything similar to the group that's in the main task force now."

The International Detective gave him a bit of a small, crooked smile. In truth, he wouldn't mind seeing Harry in a bit of a rant and would probably allow him to do so if it meant that the wizard's words would spark motivation into the final task force.

"That might be an interesting sight to see."

"Probably not, I have a very bad temper and tend to blow things up when I'm really furious. My old Headmaster could attest to that. I demolished his office more than once when I became infuriated enough to lose control."

L gave his companion a soft smirk.

"Watari has experience in calming down someone while they have lost control of their magic. I believe everything will be just fine."

Harry blushed at that, shaking his head. Everything should be fine as long as he remembered his meditation at night and to try not to let things get to him. However, it made something inside feel rather warm to know that someone cared enough to help him with his magic should it come to that point.

"I doubt it'll be needed, but thank you."

"You are welcome," he answered the wizard before focusing back on his caseload and allowing the other male a chance to collect himself. L pondered the information that Matt had given him, wondering which of the access points had been the one Kira had used to spy on the investigation.

Things were starting to unfold, and he would ensure that he would bring the offender to justice. All that was needed was time and patience.

Author's End Note – Again, my apologies for taking so long with the chapter. Real life, plus holidays, can really drag things out. I truly hope you have enjoyed the chapter; please let me know what you think! See you next chapter, and Happy New Year! ~ Laran


	14. Countermove

Author's Notes – The amount of responses to this story is really amazing, and I cannot tell you how much it means to me to hear all of the ideas and comments from all of you. This humble writer thanks each and every one of you for the reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys are fantastic, and I am so happy that our paths have crossed together like this.

I owe all of you a major apology for the delays in this story. My grandfather was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the fast moving one that they can't do much for. We're spending what time we can to help my step-grandmother, and it's tearing me and my father apart to see such a wonderful man become this person we don't even recognize anymore. Both of us spend time crying after each visit. In a family as small and close knit as mine is, it's devastating watching this. We're attempting to find a nursing home for him, but insurance is a problem so we're having to try to work the system to get him the care he needs. Also too, my father was in an accident involving a wild pig and his leg while on his motorcycle so I'm taking the bulk of the responsibilities that he usually did. It's exhausting honestly.

Writing may be slow for a while, but it's not coming to a halt. This I promise you!

Disclaimer – While I'd like to think I'm pretty creative, I certainly didn't think up the characters for both Harry Potter and Death Note. I don't own them!

Chapter Fourteen – Countermove

The assumption that something would change regarding Kira's habits was proven not long after the conversation L and Harry had the day before. Alerts came in throughout the day, each containing information on time, name of the fatality, and location of the

deceased. Harry had stopped his research in order to help organize the new information since Watari was at the police station. Each new death only made his heart sink further as well as make his frustration with the situation grow.

"L, maybe my memory isn't the greatest but hasn't Kira been killing a mixture of prisoners and people that are not in jail?"

The taller male nodded, chewing on his lower lip as he kept reviewing the facts they had been accumulating. He didn't look pleased at all as he put together the changes that Kira had made to his usual patterns.

"Indeed," he answered. "Today has been a change from what he usually does. A heart attack every hour of the day as well as using prisoners instead of people who are not incarcerated."

The wizard turned away from the list they'd been compiling all day, looking grim.

"This is not good," he said to his employer, who nodded once again. It was a testament to just how focused the detective was as he ignored the plate of treats Dobby had left for them to snack on.

"No, it is not. This leaves a variety of possibilities open, and none of them are ones that are palatable to me."

Harry knew what he was talking about and brought the issue out into the open. He wasn't pleased by the thought of the problem that had been laid before them as it meant that they would have to be extremely cautious in regards to how they handled things from this point on.

"We have a leak somewhere, and it's most likely on the other end of the investigation. Your security is pretty much at the insanely paranoid level so there's really no way for him to access the files at the House," he ventured, remembering what the other had said regarding Matt.

"Indeed," L murmured, staring at the computer screen as he considered the potential ways of handling the situation. "Kira has discovered that we believe him to be a student and has somehow changed his methodology. It was a move I somewhat anticipated, given the preliminary profiles that has been done on him thus far. However, this move he has made has left quite a few openings. The question now is what countermove do I make in return?"

The wizard rose to his feet, going to his room for a moment and returning with an ornately carved wooden box. Settling at a small table, he set up the beautifully carved wizard's chess set. His movements were noticed by the detective, who frowned a bit at his actions.

"Orion?"

"The best brainstorming sessions I've ever had has been done over a game of chess. I'm not brilliant at it, but I can hold my own for a while. Join me?"

L climbed out of his chair, sitting in the one across from the smaller male. He watched as Harry made his opening move, calling out the command and watching as the chess piece moved across the marble board.

"Right, countermoves," Harry began as L made his move in response to his own. "First of all, what do we know about this situation?"

L's dark gray eyes watched the chessboard as the wizard contemplated his move.

"There is a leak within the Japanese police department. The leak is able to provide Kira with up to date information as the members of the Kira Task Force learn it."

The smaller male nodded, calling his move to the board and watching the piece move across to the position it had been ordered to.

"Which means one of several possibilities: someone has opened their mouths where they should not have on accident or on purpose due to being a Kira supporter, Kira is on the task force, or it's someone accessing the computers."

"Matt has determined that all of the taskforce members were home when their log in information was given to the servers," L answered. "Tracking down which computer in each home was used would be fruitless as the task force member could have accessed it themselves instead of someone in the family doing it for them."

Harry was quiet as L made his move, contemplating the events. His eyes were focused on the pieces for a moment before glancing up at his opponent.

"What is your first instinct in regards to handling this situation?"

A pale thumb was chewed on for a moment as gray eyes examined the board, looking up as he answered the question.

"Bring in an outside team to investigate each member of the task force."

The wizard fell into an old habit that he, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and one other had done during the war. It was time to ask questions to push the brainstorming into a new level and guide the session. The habit was a nice one to fall back into, knowing that both of them could highly benefit from it.

"Based on what you know of Kira, the profile that's here now, would he anticipate you doing something like that?"

L frowned a moment, still chewing on his thumb. His mind raced with the information, determining several answers.

"If his intelligence is as close to mine as we have hypothesized, then my actions would be to try to cause discord between the outside detective and the police. If they are too busy chasing each other, then there is no time to investigate my criminal activities."

The green eyed male nodded, calling out his next move before giving another question to his fellow chess player.

"If you were Kira and wanted to do this, would this mean that you would be aware of any outside investigators that would be investigating each task force member and their families?"

The detective paused a moment, mind suddenly picking up speed. His eyes widened slightly, meeting the emerald ones that were watching him.

"I would be watching for any signs of investigation that might be given to the task force members and their families. The only solution is to set up a scenario that makes Kira believe that he's pushed me into not trusting the task force while trying to ensure I do not have a problem on the team."

Harry kept quiet, letting L speak out loud and get his thoughts out. He didn't mind listening as he knew the other needed to get this addressed.

"The problem in doing this is ensuring he does not realize that we know where he is. That's one portion of the investigation that I have not revealed to the team in order to give myself an advantage should this situation occur."

L rose, making a final play that put Harry's king in check.

"Check mate," he murmured, heading to his computer. He crouched in his normal position as he took a seat, fingers flying over the keyboard.

The long haired male left the set on the table, moving to his seat near L's station. He watched, waiting to see if he could be of use.

"Roger, this is L. I need Mello, Matt, and Near at their computers and on a video conference call in five minutes," the detective instructed.

"As you wish, L. Five minutes," the elderly sounding voice replied over the computer speakers. There was the sound of the link being broken, and the crouching detective looked over at his companion.

"Do you need me to leave while you talk to them," Harry asked, knowing that the identities of the three heirs were a high class secret. As he watched, he could see the other male visibly ponder the question before providing the answer.

"No. If something should happen to me, you would be working with them to ensure justice is served. I need you to swear a magical oath that you will never reveal their faces or identities to anyone. You'll be working with them in the future, and you and Watari are the only two I trust to make sure that they have the correct information. When I am able to form the true task force, I may not have time to interact with them. Add to that, they might be able to help you with research if you need it."

Harry blinked at him for a moment, feeling something warm inside of him. He hadn't expected that response at all.

"You trust me with this?"

L nodded, not breaking the stare he held with the other. It was surprising to him that he did trust the other so much, but Harry had proven that he was trustworthy and was someone he was proud to work with. The thoughts did make him wonder at it, but he trusted his instincts and logic also told him that the wizard would die before betraying his comrades. The research done on the man also proved that Harry was that type of individual.

"I do, Harry. I do trust you with this."

The smile he was given made something catch in his chest, doing funny things to his stomach. L frowned a bit, making a mental note to speak to Watari on it, and then gave a tiny crooked smile in return. He watched as the wand was pulled out from his left sleeve and held into the air.

"I, Lord Harrison James Potter-Black, do solemnly swear on my magic to protect the identities of L's heirs, keeping them and their existence a secret from all those who would do them harm. As I will it, so mote it be."

There was a bright flare of light that surrounded the wizard, making L wince for a second. The detective had not expected Harry to take things a step further by ensuring that no word of the existence of his heirs would pass the lips of the wizard. The realization only made that sensation in his chest grow, making him wonder just what that was he was feeling.

"Thank you," he said softly as Harry put his wand away.

"You're welcome, L," the wizard answered just as softly, smiling at him for a moment. The small, crooked smile he received in return made him feel good inside, but he wasn't able to examine that as the genius's computer beeped.

The monitor divided into three sections, each showing a young boy. Harry hid his smile, noticing the intelligence in each pair of eyes. It was obvious the children held almost as much genius as L did, and he hoped he'd be able to keep up with the trio should he wind up having to give them information or work with them.

"Ryuuzaki, is it safe," the blond child asked, noticing the long haired male with his mentor.

L nodded as he spoke, reassuring his protégés.

"It is safe. This is Orion Evans, our expert on the magical world. Orion, these are my heirs. Near, Mello, and Matt," the older genius introduced, pointing at each screen in turn. "Orion has sworn an oath on his magic to protect your identities and existence. Should Watari or I be too busy to update any of you, he will be the one to do so. You may also be asked to aid him in research, using the resources at the House."

"What's his security level," Matt asked, making Harry frown a bit as he followed the conversation.

"I will provide that later," L said. "Once you are informed, you will know how to act accordingly. Now that the introductions are done, there are some things you need to know in order to fulfill the tasks I will set you. Have you three been keeping up to date on the case information so far?"

"Near has been," the white haired boy began. "The profile seems accurate for the data acquired thus far."

The older one nodded, watching the monitor closely as he began to fill his heirs in on the day's developments. Harry was fascinated at how the other was using this as a learning tool, though he wasn't sure if L was aware of it or not. He was patient with them, listening alertly to the questions they occasionally asked, and it was obvious the boys held a deep love and respect for the man.

"L, if you are going to pull a second team in to investigate the police and their families, then this could tip Kira off. We're going to need to find a way to make him believe that the task force in his area is one of several," the blond interjected once his mentor had finished his explanation.

"I agree, Mello. That was my thought on this situation as well," L answered the boy. "However, in order to do that, we shall have to set up a very elaborate ruse so that we do not alert Kira to our knowledge."

"We can set up dummy task forces and link them to the main database," the red head began, fidgeting with his goggles as he brainstormed out loud. "It'll be time consuming, but it'll prove that there are investigations all over Tokyo as well as other cities in Japan. When Kira notices the agents following him, he will probably hit the database to see if you know where he is. Files can be placed in there with the results of the other teams. They'll have to be backdated, but that's not hard to do."

"The only difficulty Near foresees is if Kira should come into verbal contact with an investigating agent. If the agent tells Kira that there is only one team investigating the police, Kira will be able to determine that L knows where Kira is."

Mello frowned, listening to his fellow students for a moment before taking a bite of his chocolate bar. He chewed for a few moments before speaking.

"My suggestion is that L tells the agency he calls in to send several teams. One to investigate the task force and the others dispatched to investigate other aspects of the Kira case. However, the team that will be working in Kanto will be told that the other teams are investigating the members of the other task forces," he suggested.

L nodded, looking satisfied at the suggestions being offered.

"Matt, with Mello and Near assisting you, how long will it take you to create these false files?"

The goggle wearing boy frowned, thinking on the steps needed to get the task done.

"The biggest part of the task is the word processing as each file in the data base needs to have its own unique tone to it. I can pull in several of the students to help with that and let Mello and Near supervise that as well as put the touches on the dating for each team. That'll leave me time to do the final edit as well as input the data into the Kanto division's servers without causing a system crash or flagging anyone's attention to the fact that I'm mucking about in their database,' he mused. "With everyone working together, added to the fact that most of us don't sleep much, I can have it all in place within forty-eight hours. Less if things go well."

"It will probably take that long to call in one of the favors the agency owes me and get the teams their assignments before they are in place. Let me know when it is ready, and I can make sure the agents are in position six hours or more after those files are in the police database," L answered.

The boys, realizing that was the order and dismissal they needed from him, quickly signed off. Once the room was quiet, Harry shook his head.

"You've got some very intelligent heirs there," he said softly, watching as L pulled up a few screens to scan over some information.

"That is why they are my heirs," he answered him. "They compete against each other for the chance to hold my position, but I try to ensure they have tasks where they have to work together. The three of them, functioning as one unit, are the perfect replacement for me. The problem is that they have yet to realize it. That is why I placed the call. I could have ordered this done without letting them come up with the ideas on their own, but this enables them to think together creatively."

"This case provides one hell of a teaching tool," the wizard said, rubbing his temples as he spoke.

L nodded, picking up the phone to call Watari to fill him in on what was going on. The detective would not make the calls to the agency just yet, but the older male needed to know about the decisions that had been made.

"Indeed and it seems that my heirs are not the only ones benefitting from it," he answered, acknowledging that he was learning a few things too. He said nothing more, dialing the familiar number and allowing Harry to go back to his research.

The wizard gave a tired smile, picking up a book and getting comfortable in his seat as he began reading once more.

Author's End Note – Longer chapter than usual but hopefully it somewhat makes up for my lack of posting lately. I wanted to tie in the heirs a bit more and I think that given how things have changed somewhat, this is a good use of resources on L's part. That and I'm a Near fan. Please let me know what you think! See you next chapter – Laran.


	15. Plots and Phone Calls

Author's Note – Holy Ra, you guys are amazing. The response to the last chapter was enough to inspire me to keep going for as long as the muses hold out and the body allows me to keep up with inspiration. I cannot thank you guys enough for your kind words and thoughts regarding the troubles my family is going through. You, my readers, are truly amazing people.

Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter or Death Note, but I truly wish I did. It'd be nice to have my name in print on a bookshelf.

Chapter Fifteen – Plots and Phone Calls

The wizard listened in with half an ear after L had finished his phone conversation with Watari. He looked up to find the detective setting up a familiar piece of equipment, making him smile slightly.

"Are there any times when you actually speak to someone over the phone or computer without that voice changer? I mean, outside of your heirs or someone at the House," he asked, rather curious about that answer.

"Very rarely," L told him. "There are quite a few people who remember others just by the sound of their voice alone, and I prefer to take what precautions I can to ensure my anonymity."

"The problem is that most offices will not transfer anyone with an electronically altered voice due to security protocols. How are you able to circumvent that little problem?"

"Watari usually opens the conversations for me but as he is not here, you can do such a thing for me."

Harry tilted his head, blowing a loose strand of hair out of his eyes. He was very much surprised by the other's request.

"You want me to do it? Is there anything in particular I should say?"

L continued getting everything set up while he explained what he needed for the smaller male to do.

"When the phone is answered, you will ask for Director Carmichael. If they ask who is requesting him, just announce that L is waiting to speak to him. You should get through without a problem. When he picks up, I'll take over," he told the other.

"All right then, seems easy enough," he answered. "I just hope this chap doesn't have a new secretary that has no clue who you are."

"Unlikely but most secretaries know to put the call through," he told him. "I do not remember a time when a call from me was refused."

Harry gave a soft laugh at that, shaking his head as he briefly thought about the people who had probably tried to reach certain important individuals and found themselves stonewalled by secretaries. Truth be told, knowing what he did of L, he couldn't see this happening to the detective at all.

"I imagine you probably won't have that problem. A few years ago, you might have had you tried to reach certain departments or figures within the Ministry of Magic."

"Given what you have told me, I have no doubt I would have been stalled for a while. However, I am building connections in the magical world so I would not have that problem for long."

The wizard nodded, not doubting that at all. L was pretty intense in regards to his work, and he found that rather intriguing.

"I'll help you build them as I'm certain there are not many within the Ministry that knows of you," he said. "Now, I suppose we need to make that call?"

L had been caught by surprise by the offer but hid the reaction, dialing the information into the computer. He positioned Harry near his work station, not enabling the distortion program just yet.

"Director Carmichael's office, how may I assist you?"

Harry drew in a breath when he heard the voice and answered politely, not wanting to cause any friction that would delay L's conversation with the director of whatever agency the man was contacting.

"Yes ma'am, my employer is needing to speak with Director Carmichael and it's a matter of some importance."

The secretary's voice was a bit harried but still polite. It was obvious to the wizard that this director received quite a few calls throughout the day.

"May I ask who is calling?"

"You may tell him that L is waiting to speak to him," the English lord responded. "Again, it is an important matter and I do not believe it would be wise to keep him waiting."

"Of course," came the frazzled reply. "Please hold while I transfer you."

Hold music filled the air a few seconds later, and Harry slipped back in his seat. That hadn't been too complicated, though he had to wonder how many times Watari had to remain courteous while wading through protective secretaries. He shrugged to himself and picked up his book, focusing on his research once again and allowing L some measure of privacy for his call.

"Hello L, I'm surprised you are calling me considering the investigation you're on. Is there something I can assist you with?"

The detective played with a sugar cube as he responded to the American's greeting. Though most directors didn't like him much, Carmichael had shown him respect over the years in regards to L's requests during investigations as well as his success rate with cases the director had brought him in on.

"Director Carmichael, I am calling in regards to the investigation. I find that I am in need of assistance from your agency."

"What is it you need from us?"

Sugar cubes slowly began to form a tower as L played with them while speaking with the director.

"It has become apparent that there is a leak on the police end of the investigation, and I have called to request the use of agents to investigate the members of the task force as well as their families. Kira's methods altered once the police were informed of my hypothesis as to the possible age of the suspect."

"Damn, that's not good. I can see why you need help, L, but you know my hands are tied in regards to jurisdiction."

A second tower began to take shape as L thought things over for a few moments. A side glance showed that Harry was taking notes about something, fingers fumbling as they moved over the laptop keyboard. The sight would be amusing except for the serious conversation he was sharing with the director. The dark haired male focused his attention back on the call.

"I will see to it that your hands are untied, Director Carmichael."

"If you can do that, L, then I'd be happy to send agents to assist you. How many do you need?"

Long hair fell into his eyes as he contemplated the question. L nibbled on his thumb for a few moments, mind working over various scenarios.

"Four teams at least and each team should only have a vague idea of the presence of the other teams in Japan."

"I know you have a reason for that," the director began. "I'd like to know why I need to keep the teams so uninformed as my agency pretty much thrives on teamwork when in missions like this."

"Due to the rapid rise in numbers of people who support Kira, I felt it necessary to keep one key piece of information away from the Japanese police as the potential for a leak was there. I know the region where Kira is."

The director was silent for a moment, contemplating what the international detective had told him. He could easily understand why L had kept the information so close to his vest and would have done the same if he'd had to make that choice instead of the mysterious investigator.

"Given the leak, if Kira knew that you were aware of his general location, he'd be more alert and ready to counter your movements. Add to that, if he did get lucky and capture one of my agents, it'd be best to leave them vague on details of the other teams. It'd keep Kira from realizing you have a starting point on finding him."

"Exactly," L responded, not surprised by the director's response. "I have no wish to give Kira any idea that I know this, but I need to ensure that this information leak does not happen again. I do not know the problem lies with a member of the task force or a family member is a supporter or even Kira himself. This is the only way to ensure that the investigation remains confidential and untainted."

"I understand that," Carmichael told him. "I'll pull the personnel files and make sure that none of my agents are sympathetic with what that bastard is doing. I'll form the teams but won't call them together until I hear back from you or Watari in regards to permission to send agents there. I trust you'll have their assignments ready at that time?"

"I will indeed, director. It may take a few days to ensure that permission is granted," he told him. "When the call is made, I shall ensure that the team assignments are sent in a secure fashion so that there is no way for this to be compromised."

"I'll be waiting for your call, L. I'm glad there is something the FBI can do to aid your investigation."

"Thank you, Director Carmichael," the detective said before ending the call. He leaned back in his seat, chewing on his thumb as he worked through what had to be done before the teams could be sent to Japan.

The Prime Minister of Japan would need to be contacted to gain permission for the FBI teams to come in and help L with finding out where this leak was. His heirs were working on the project to cover the story that other task forces had been created to investigate Kira, giving the detective time to continue his search for his target.

L shifted position on his chair, leaning forward to pull up a map of Japan. His dark eyes examined the island, mentally calculating a few things. He could explain his interest in the nation due to the first suspicious heart attack happening there. However, he would also spread a wider false trail than he had originally planned.

The detective opened another window, spotting a familiar ID on the House's messaging service. Only his heirs, Watari, Roger, and L had access to this particular program. He popped a sugar cube into his mouth as he began typing.

~Matt, there needs to be a slight alteration to the plan.~

There was a few moments of silence before a low chime was heard, signaling a message had been sent in return.

~What's being changed?~

~I am going to make Kira believe that the range of the search is bigger than Japan, though it will be noted that I am holding the country high on my list of potential hiding places due to the first heart attack happening in Shinjuku. ~

~I see. International search then?~

L chewed on his thumb for a moment, contemplating the question before responding back to one of his heirs.

~Exactly, Matt. I need you to present files from various parts of the world. They can be added to the NPA servers at various times, and I will inform the director of the same thing so that he can be prepared to verify that if he is asked about it.~

~I'll get Near and Mello in on this so we can push this as far as we need to in order for it to be believable. We'll probably need to get your stamp of approval on a file on the NPA side so they know that they're not the only teams focused on this.~

~Indeed, I have been planning on informing Chief Yagami and his direct supervisor of this in order to make sure this is believable.~

L sipped his tea as he waited for Matt's reply. He wrinkled his nose in distaste when he realized it was cold and before he could say anything, a fresh cup was set before him. That little house elf friend of Orion's was proving to be handy to have around.

~While I was doing some digging in the NPA servers, I noticed you had assigned a project about the media where the names of the criminals were listed. Mello was looking over my shoulder and pointed out about Lind L. Tailor not being known. We were a bit curious once we realized you had raised the question about the media issue. ~

~I assume one of you three checked into that?~

~Near and Mello did during their downtimes. They'll have a written report for you later, but I can give you the bare bones of it. The early murders seemed to be heavily reported through the Japanese media, but it seems that Kira started relying more on the internet after he began expanding his reach from Japan to the rest of the world. As much as I rely on technology, L, even I know that the internet isn't infallible. How in the world has he not killed a wrongly convicted person by now?~

He sighed, shaking his head. This was something he had also been concerned about and was another heavy motivator for him to get Kira brought to justice as swiftly as possible. The idea of an innocent dying was repugnant to him.

~We have been fortunate that he has not done so yet. It is only a matter of time though if he is not stopped soon.~

~If it draws out, I might be able to enlist some friends to drop as many of the larger media servers online as I can, but it's only a temporary fix.~

~And would draw attention to the ones doing it. I will keep that as a reserve option, Matt. Mello and Near have done well in getting that information for me. I shall be awaiting the report from them.~

~Which reminds me, Mello asked me earlier if we're going to have to start CC'ing reports to this Orion guy as well as Watari?~

L set his cup down, popping a cookie into his mouth as he typed the response to the hacker. The question had reminded him of something that he needed to discuss with Orion fairly soon.

~Not yet. I will inform the three of you if you need to do so. At the moment, he is working on the magical aspect of the case and giving assistance with the other aspects as needed.~

~Okay, I'll let Mells know. Was there anything else you needed?~

He sipped the tea again, washing away cookie crumbs that lingered in his mouth.

~Not at the moment. However, I would recommend that one or all three of you remain logged on this messaging program at all times in case I need to speak with one of you directly. The teachers should not give you an issue about it once I email Roger with the request.~

~Will do. Speak to you later, L.~

The detective signed off, frowning a bit at the screen. At least that part of the plan was now in operation. He would have to wait for the files to be ready before calling the director with the updated information regarding what the agents would have to be told before being sent to Japan.

Author's End Note – Wow, I think this chapter tried to write itself. The fun part of this is going back to watch episodes in order to get the time line right. I truly hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you thought! See you next chapter, Laran.


	16. Making Steps Forward

Author's Note – I can't thank everyone enough for their words of support. Dad's slowly improving and is still in physical therapy for the moment. Between that and my grandfather, I'm still all over the place and writing is difficult still. I'm still working to move things along with my stories, and I refuse to let this beat me. It's just heartbreaking watching my grandfather fade like this. Anyway, here's the next installment!

I owe a major thank you to the reviewer who reminded me of the time line of events in the last manga of the Death Note series. You, dear reviewer, have seriously been a major help with that reminder. Thank you so very much!

Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter or Death Note. Some other people own it and make money off of it. I just like playing with the characters.

Chapter Sixteen – Making Steps Forward

Things had been coming together rather well over the past few days, much to L's pleasure and satisfaction. Matt had been true to his word, getting files placed in the server with the correct time stamps, and both the chief and the head of the division of the police had not argued too much when they had been informed of other teams following up on leads that may or may not lead to the location of Kira in other countries.

The FBI chief had been true to his word, forming several teams to send to Japan and not giving them any more than a hint that the other teams existed but did not telling them who the members were. Also, hints of other teams going to different countries were made as well. L had been very pleased with the results, knowing that if one of the agents had been found by Kira, then no information would be given to him that would damage the investigation.

Both L and Watari had gone through the files that Matt and the other members of the House had created, and neither had been able to find any mistakes. They had both commented to Harry that the results of the files were beyond satisfactory, and the wizard was happy the two men were pleased.

Once the detective was sure everything was in place, he had Carmichael send the teams in. The reports came in slowly, and it was rather nerve wracking for Harry as he continued to pour over the materials he'd brought with him while he waited with L and Watari for news.

The wizard set his book down, getting up to stretch and work off his nervous energy. The waiting part was something he had never been particularly good at, though he was getting better as time went by.

"Something troubling you?"

Green eyes looked up to meet the warm brown eyes of Watari and the cool gray ones of L. He shrugged a bit, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I've never been good at the waiting part, and there's a part of me that keeps hoping the web has been woven tightly enough so that nothing gets through that you don't want getting through."

L nodded, setting a file down to address the comment that had been made.

"We have done everything we possibly can for this phase so we have to hope that we have done well. I do not believe we have made an error here."

"I don't think so either," Harry agreed. "It's just that we know this guy is intelligent, and he's going to notice an agent following him. I don't know, I've got a feeling things are going to get nastier once he realizes it."

"Oh I know they will but we can at least try to minimize the damage," Watari said, sipping his tea.

"I just wish there was a way to determine how he's doing this. He's got some level of control with the changing of the timing earlier," Harry muttered, reviewing facts in his head. "Almost as if he can program this thing but how? How far can it be pushed so that we overlook anything other than a heart attack or is a heart attack the only method this thing has?"

L's eyes narrowed a moment as he focused on the questions from the wizard. Given the parameters of the profile so far, it did seem likely that Kira was testing his limits and would be doing so even more to determine what could or could not be done. The fact that he couldn't be killed during that televised conference was an indicator that there were some limits and if he were the perpetrator, he would be pushing his weapon to find out what other limits were there so as not to leave himself open for weaknesses in future plans.

"We're going to have to widen our parameters in the searches of victims," he told the pair, making Harry jerk to face him.

"I said something that sparked a brainstorm, didn't I?"

"You don't make plans without understanding what the limits of your weapon are. He can change the time of death so it stands to reason that the means of death can be altered as well."

Watari nodded, grabbing his laptop to log onto the chat program. It was something that needed checking, but they didn't have time to do so and knew that this needed to be resourced out in a secure manner.

"I'll set the heirs on this," he told L. "This should give the boys more to watch for, and it'll be time consuming as they'll have to read the reports regarding each death around the time of the first heart attack in Shinjuku."

"Make sure they understand that this has to be something that is beyond a natural cause of death," L acknowledged. "Odd behavior, unusual occurrences. If Kira was just starting to push the limits but without a full plan at that time, then it will be something that would stand out to them. Have them set up a spreadsheet with the details and dates, and I want current events updated every day, even if it's heart attacks."

Harry listened to them for a few moments, then turned as he drew his wand. An idea had popped into his mind, and it was something that needed to be researched. The emerald eyed male knew just who to ask too.

"Accio communications mirror."

He deftly caught the mirror, aware that he had L's attention. The wizard put the wand away before calling out a name.

"Luna Lovegood."

There was a few moments of silence before a soft, sweet voice drifted up from the silvered surface.

"Hello lovely brother of mine."

A gentle smile curved the long haired male's lips when he heard the greeting, feeling muscles relax in ways that only Luna's gentle voice and presence could do.

"Hello little sister," he greeted in return. "You are well?"

"I am, though the plans for the bonding continues to go on unresolved since our families continue to argue over how this should be done. We're both debating on going into hiding until a truce can be called."

"Tell you what, little sister, why don't you have it at the Aerie? The house elves can handle the decorations once you two decide on the colors and theme as well as everything else, and you two pick out the clothing you want and have it billed to my account. This way you're not dependent on the others, and you won't have to worry about anyone stepping on your toes."

"Are you sure, Harrison?"

His voice firmed just a tad, showing he was determined on this.

"You and she are my family, Luna, and this is something I want to do. The Lovegoods are vassals of the Potter family anyway, and this is something I can insist on. Since she's becoming a Lovegood, Hermione will fall under that as well. So no more arguing, you two are getting what you want and not what the extended family members that both of you rarely speak with want. She can tell her family that since she's taking your name and marrying into your family as the submissive partner, she has to obey family tradition. This way they can blame me and as I'm not seen by anyone other than you two, Neville, and occasionally our potions master friend, I don't have to worry about them yelling at me."

A peal of silvery sounding giggles filled the air.

"You can be such a naughty one, Harrison, but I thank you for that. I'll tell Hermione, and we'll contact the elves at the Aerie. Now, why have you called?"

The smile he had dimmed a bit as he shifted topics to the reason why he had called.

"You are aware of the developments of the Kira case that's been going on?"

"Yes," she answered, voice full of disgust. "It's not been drawing much attention here in the magical world though, but it's no surprise considering it's getting close to election time for some seats in the Wizengamot. Hermione, Neville, and I have been pulling what information we can get from the muggle papers though to try to keep up with the goings on."

"I'm glad you're keeping up on it," he told her. "I need some research from you if you can spare the time."

"For you, anything. What is it you need, Harrison?"

"I can get the information regarding the Asian and American prisons, but I need to know if there have been any deaths in the European magical prisons that could be attributed to Kira. Listen closely, Luna, it won't just be heart attacks."

"I can do that, but it'll be a long list for Azkaban. Even with the changes, it's still going to take time for that to modernize."

"I know it's a lot of information so pull Hermione in on this if you have to since you two have sworn oaths about this investigation. I need you two to organize it by prison and date, details necessary in regards to cause of death. Luna, you can't overlook the suicides."

There was a long pause as she went over the information she'd been told. He could see and hear the anger when she finally broke her silence.

"I'll pull Neville in too," she said flatly. "He swore the oath to you not long ago so he's safe to have help us. We'll get this information to you as quickly as we can through Dobby."

"I appreciate it, Luna. I hate having to ask this of you three, but I can't run the risk of my leaving the UK being leaked out. The last thing I need is reporters trying to figure out where I am and completely botch the investigation."

"No, I agree and that's why we took the oath when you asked us to. This way we can do what's needed here when you ask for it," she reminded him. "Fortunately, no one has any idea you're not here. The three of us have come up stories of meeting with you if anyone asks."

"You three are the best," he said. "Thank you for this, Luna, and don't forget to tell Hermione of my solution to the bonding issues."

"She'll be home in under an hour so I won't forget. Now shoo so I can start making the calls I need to get the information you want."

He ended the call, setting the mirror down before turning to face the other occupants of the room.

"When did you have your friends take the oaths?"

Harry looked at the detective, knowing they'd spoken of having them do but he'd forgotten to tell L after he'd had them do it.

"Around the time I gave Hermione the project around the muggle safe security potion and vow," he answered. "I had a feeling I'd need their help at some point, and it's best to have the oaths out of the way."

"A wise decision," he told the younger male. "The project you have them working on?"

"It occurred to me that we've not been monitoring the magical prisons as well as we have the mundane ones. If there are signs of Kira's interference there, then it might help us with the profile a bit more," he answered. "Also, if he's been attacking the magical prisoners, then we can ask the Asian and American governments to set up specialized wards to record any outside magical interference. Any data would be helpful to me right now as I'm still bogged down on how he's doing this."

"Do you have those wards set up here," Watari asked, looking up from the computer.

"I do," Harry assured him. "They've been set up since we got here, and I renew them daily to find if anything has pinged off of them. So far, it's been quiet."

Before either of them could comment, L's computer made a noise and the detective began going through the data that had been sent to him to look through. Harry was about to sit down when the shaggy haired male made a noise.

"What is it?"

"Our suspicions were correct," the detective answered, gesturing for Watari and Harry to come to his station. "He is testing the limits of his weapon."

Both of them went to stand behind L, staring at the reports that had been sent to him. Harry shook his head, absorbing the details that had been recorded.

"Watari," L began softly. "The investigation team will wish to speak to me regarding these new developments. Would you mind going down there?"

"No, L, I don't mind. Call me if you need anything," he instructed, donning the coat and hat before picking up his briefcase. The older man left immediately, knowing L was right and the team would want to speak to the detective.

"Are there pictures of these scenes," Harry asked, forcing his hands to remain steady.

"I am printing them now," L answered, eyes focused on his screen. "It might be easier to determine more clues with the printed images than on screen."

He went to the printer, picking up the pictures after they'd finished printing. The wizard looked through them, frowning heavier as he did so.

"This makes little to no sense," he muttered. "This pentagram the inmate painted; it's useless."

"What do you mean," the seated male asked, turning his gaze towards the baffled magic user.

"The pentagram is something that both mundane pagans as well as wizards who follow the Ancient Ways use. However, you can't just draw up a pentagram and hope that it works. There's steps that go with it and items that accompany the rituals," he shared.

L rose, moving to stand behind Harry to look at the picture he was examining. This was one of the reasons he was glad that the decision to bring the wizard into the investigation had been made.

"So this symbol is useless?"

"Yes, it is," he answered, staring at it. "This is all wrong, but I wish I could say it's a point for our profile. I can't confirm this theory I have until I get the information from Luna," he muttered.

"Muggle?"

"Either that or a teenage wizard with a huge issue towards muggles," he said, tilting the picture in various angles. "I can't be certain though; I need more data. This pentagram is a way to try to distract us; it's useless for the most part. I'd be willing to bet my best broom that Kira is hoping to distract the investigation and throw it towards the occult angle."

Harry handed L the picture with the pentagram and focused on the other two pictures, frowning. The images really didn't make sense to him so he passed them to the detective.

"Does the writing make sense to you at all?"

The taller male murmured under his breath, putting a few things together before shaking his head.

"A riddle or another attempt to throw us off of the scent? I am unsure," he told his wizard companion.

"What does it say?"

He looked away from the pictures to stare at Harry.

"It says: L, do you know that shinigami love apples? This has to be another attempt to mislead us."

"What's a shinigami," Harry asked, feeling something tense inside of him.

"Loosely translated, it's a god of death."

"Bloody hell," he breathed out, starting to pace. That sense of something wrong simply increased when he heard the explanation.

"What is it?"

Harry knew he was worrying the other but kept on pacing as he tried to word his answer. This was going to be tricky, but he couldn't deny the instincts that were saying this wasn't another ruse.

"The gods of death appear in practically every legend around the world," the wizard began. "No one really knows if they actually exist or how they take the souls of the dead. The only consistent fact that appears in each legend is that they determine how long a person has to live."

He drew in a deep breath and continued, hands gesturing as he did so.

"It's possible Kira is using this as a ruse, but there are a lot of magical legends that speak of items created by the beings of death for specific purposes."

"Legends are stories," L reminded him.

"Most mundane people believe unicorns and dragons to be creatures of legend, but they exist," Harry replied. "There are grains of fact within a legend. One has to be careful in weeding those facts out, but there may be a grain of truth to this note left for you."

"How do you wish to proceed then," the detective asked. Harry was right in stating that some things existed even though they were nothing but stories to most people, and he would rely on the wizard to sift through the stories to find the facts.

"I'll continue my research, but I will allot some of the time towards the legends surrounding the beings that are attributed to death. Maybe something will pop out at me and put me on the right path. I'll keep the time managed so that I can focus on general information as well as the death oriented ones; this way I can be certain that I won't slow the investigation down. I can adjust the search if and when more information is given to us about these gods of death."

"That sounds like a wise decision," L agreed. "In the meantime, I will continue sifting through the data while we wait on the information from your friends and the House."

The Master of Death nodded, heading towards where the library was kept. He had information to find, but he truly hoped that this shinigami lead wouldn't be as bad as his instincts were warning him they could be.

Author's End Note – I hope everyone enjoyed this. I apologize for the delay between chapter postings and hope that I'll be able to continue with the updates. Please let me know what your thoughts on this are. See everyone next chapter! Laran


	17. Weeding Things Out

Author's Note – I know it's been a while, and I do apologize. I've had a lot of projects on my plate as well as trying to get my health issues under control. It's not easy to write when under a haze from pain meds honestly, but I'm not going to abandon my stories. One way or another, I will get this story and the others finished.

Thank you to all who have read and reviewed. I know everyone has been anxious for an update, and I value your patience a great deal.

Disclaimer – I do not own "Harry Potter" or "Death Note" nor do I make any money from this story. I'm just enjoying the chance to have fun with the characters.

Chapter Seventeen – Weeding Things Out

So far, everything looked to be going well and Raito was rather pleased with how events were unfolding. The only thorn in his side was the presence of the person watching him, but he had plans in place for that. The tests he had run on the six prisoners had been very educational, and the self-styled god was rather pleased with the results. More tests would be needed, he was certain of that, but he had the data needed to handle the situation.

The results of his test had been interesting to read about in the NPA database, and he'd stumbled across files from other teams. The idea that L was still at a loss as to where he was pleased Raito to no end, but he would remain cautious for now. Each team had reported their suspicions about the odd deaths, and there had been quite a bit of discussion in regards to the pentagram he'd had one of the prisoners draw in his own blood. It seemed that his ruse had worked better than he'd thought, and he had to wonder at what L had thought of his message to him.

The teenager leaned back in his chair, staring idly at the computer screen in front of him. He'd rejected Ryuk's offer of the shinigami eyes earlier, not wanting to lose any of his life. The eyes were a temptation, but he knew he was clever enough to work around the issue of not being able to see the true names of people. Life was too precious, especially his own, and he wanted all the time he could manage in order to fulfil the dreams he had.

He smirked, stretching for a moment. It was both tiring and exciting being the hand of justice, but he would endeavor to continue his work. No one would stop him, not even this so-called International Detective.

The chiming sound was distracting, and L paused in his reading to give a disgruntled look to where the stack of books his companion had been sorting through were lying. Harry had gotten up to visit the loo, and the detective had no idea how to make the irritating noise stop.

"Why in Merlin's name do you look as if you've been sucking on really sour lemon drops," the wizard asked, coming back into the main room.

"Your work area is making noises, and it is rapidly becoming annoying," the shaggy haired male replied, looking at the smaller one. "It is steadily growing more and more difficult to focus on my work."

"Noises? The mirror!"

Harry rushed to his work station, pulling the communications mirror out from beneath several heavy tomes, and gently tapped the glass.

"Neville," he greeted his god-brother cheerfully. "I hadn't expected to hear from you."

"Luna and Hermione are stuck in a dress shop so I volunteered to call you and give our report," the Herbology master stated with a smile.

"That was quick," the smaller wizard replied. "I hadn't expected any results for at least another few days."

"Hermione came up with an idea to speed things up," the Longbottom lord answered. "She borrowed your army of house elves and had them sneak into certain offices to get the information needed so you could look it over."

"Well, there is a reason she's known as the brightest witch of her age," Harry laughed. "What did the elves find out?"

"There's been no deaths that can be attributed to the case," Neville said quietly. "All of the wards for the prisons have been quiet as well."

Harry frowned, thinking for a moment, and his god-brother continued.

"Sorry we didn't find much for you," Neville told him. "We'd hoped to get better answers that you could use for the investigation."

"Actually, Nev, you did. I'll explain later when I've got more time. Send my love to the girls, and I'll contact you soon."

"All right, Harry," the other replied, then ended the call.

The wizard set the mirror down, looking thoughtful as he processed what he'd been told. He was aware of L's dark eyes watching him and broke his silence.

"Kira's a muggle."

"Explain," L replied, wanting to hear Harry's thoughts on this. He had a feeling the other was correct regarding what he had stated, but the detective needed to understand how he had reached that hypothesis.

"It's not well known, but there have been the occasional muggles and squibs who have knowingly broken wizarding law. The mundane governments are informed of this and allow the magical governments to hold the trials," Harry explained. "The ones that were found guilty were sentenced to the magical prisons, and the governments covered it up. Only magical beings would know of this and if Kira was a magical being, he would have killed them as they fall into the bracket of those he kills."

"He's only moved against non-magical beings," the detective commented. "This definitely eliminates a biased wizard."

"Exactly," he replied. "Which means we've got a muggle using some kind of magical tool or ritual that enables him to do this. That also helps to narrow this down somewhat as most magical tools require at least a little bit of magic in order to make it work. Rituals will be longer to research due to the fact that there are quite a few out there that non-magical people can use. A lot of pagans are quite successful with the right rituals in place."

"I'll adjust our personal profile to reflect this," L answered, turning to do just that. "This eliminates quite a few from the pool of suspects."

Harry nodded, leaning back in his seat as he stared at the books in front of him. Despite the fact that this discovery had helped to narrow the possible means of killing, there was still a lot of data to go through in order to find out what was doing this. The task was fairly daunting, and the green eyed male would have to summon up a lot of his courage and determination to focus on what needed to be done instead of how much more there was to go through.

"Too big a pool of suspects and way too big a pool of potential tools," the wizard sighed, tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair. "The more we sift through, the more we find we have to uncover. It's frustrating to know that we have so very little that we actually have on this guy."

"It's all part of the process of being a detective," L told him. "It takes time and patience, but the rewards are satisfying."

"They'd have to be or there wouldn't be any detectives or policeman," Harry replied, leaning forward and dropping his head onto the stack of books with a loud thump. "It feels like we're never going to figure this out."

"The case will be solved," L told his companion. "I will not allow Kira to continue on his murder spree and from what I have heard and read about you, you are not one to allow this sort of thing to continue either."

"I'm not going to let it continue," the wizard replied, not lifting his head. "I'm just having a bit of a wobbly right now since I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of this. How in Merlin's name do you manage to do this all the time?"

"This is the first time I have had a case like this," the detective informed him. "I am just applying what I have learned and observed over the years to solve the Kira case. I focus on the details and not the sheer magnitude of what has yet to be gone over."

"I hope there's never another case this big," Harry said. "I could easily imagine this one taking years to solve if we'd had to do things strictly the muggle or the wizard way. Combining both worlds in this has made it slightly easier to investigate this."

L nodded, looking over some files that had just come in on the ICPO server. He picked up a lollipop that he'd gotten from his trip with Harry and began sucking on it while reading, occasionally twisting it between his lips and pulling it out to nibble and lick at it. There was a lot more weeding that needed to be done in regards to the data both the police, FBI, and the House had been sending him. The sugar was necessary to keep him fueled, though he had no idea that a certain wizard was watching him play with the treat in a way that was rather distracting.

Harry bit back a groan, rubbing his face before forcing himself to focus on his work. The way L was licking and nibbling on the lollipop had a certain part of him rather interested, and it was difficult restraining his bodily reactions.

Another sly glance towards the other male had him flushing before he dropped his gaze back to the book he was supposed to be reading. Merlin damn it; the things that man could do to a piece of candy with his mouth should be considered illegal!

The wizard knew one thing for certain; today was going to be one long, frustrating day.

Author's End Note – It's short, I know, but in order to get to the more activity filled chapter, I had to push things along a tad. I did get to show Harry that L was a lot more than personality and brains, lol. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought of it. If you're reading this tale on a site that does not allow for update notifications, please check my profile for the link to my yahoo group. See everyone next chapter! ~ Laran


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